President George W. Bush "strongly condemns the violent attacks in Hakkari province and extends his condolences to the families who lost loved ones and to all the people of Turkey," spokesman Gordon Johndroe said.

"These attacks are unacceptable and must stop now. Attacks from Iraqi territory need to be dealt with swiftly by the Iraqi government and Kurdish regional authorities," he said.

"The United States, Turkey and Iraq will continue to stand together to defeat the PKK terrorists."

The State Department issued a similarly worded condemnation of the attacks.

"We are outraged at the terrorist violence that claimed as many as 15 lives or more in Hakkari province today," said spokesman Sean McCormack.

"The PKK terrorist organization has wrought a trail of bloodshed that serves only to perpetuate suffering. We condemn the PKK categorically and extend our deepest condolences to the victims' families and loved ones," he said.

"We will continue to work with our Turkish and Iraqi allies against this terrorist organization. We also call upon Iraqi and Kurdish regional government authorities to take immediate steps to halt PKK operations from Iraqi territory."

Thirty-two Kurdish rebels and 12 Turkish soldiers were killed in heavy clashes in southeastern Turkey prompted by a rebel attack on the military patrol, the Turkish army said.

A Kurdish rebel leader said several Turkish soldiers were also captured by the rebels during the fighting, however this was denied by Turkey's Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul.

Iraq's security committee held a meeting on Sunday to discuss the latest incident along the border, which follows Turkey's threat to send troops inside Iraq to flush out the rebels.