Turkey to delay Iraq strikes

ISTANBUL, Turkey, Oct. 21 (UPI) -- Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sunday he would delay strikes in Iraq after speaking with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Erdogan said he would grant Rice’s request for “a few days” delay in retaliatory strikes in exchange for speedy U.S. action in response to the killing of 12 Turkish soldiers by Iraqi-based Kurdish separatists, The New York Times reported.

The soldiers were ambushed early Sunday in the Hakkari Province of Turkey, about three miles from the Iraqi border. The Turkish military said it fought back, killing at least 32 militants.

The attack was the latest in a series of incursions by Kurdish militants who have hideouts in the mountains of Iraq, the newspaper said.

In response to the attacks Erdogan said on Turkish national television his country’s “anger is great.” He threatened to use powers given to him by the Turkish parliament last week to attack insurgent bases across the border.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters a Turkish military action does not seem imminent.

The Bush administration condemned the attacks, as did Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.