Turkey to extend cross-border raids

ANKARA, Turkey, Sept. 17 (UPI) -- The ruling Justice and Development Party in Turkey wants to extend for another year Turkish military authority to enter Iraq in pursuit of militants.

The Justice and Development Party, or AKP, said it plans to make a formal decision on the measure with top party leadership before sending it on to Parliament, the Turkish daily Hurriyet reported Wednesday.

The report says failure on the part of Kurdish officials in northern Iraq to rein in the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, prompted the decision.

U.S. military officials in Iraq started providing Turkey with intelligence regarding PKK activity in Iraq beginning last December, a move that stirred controversy when it emerged Turkish officials shared that intelligence with Iran.

The PKK and its affiliated Party for a Free Life in Kurdistan, or PJAK, are listed by the U.S. State Department as terrorist organizations. PJAK last week called on the international community to stand in solidarity against the torture of its members by Iran.

Both groups engage in militant activity in northern Iraq, Turkey and in some western Iranian provinces.

The Turkish mandate for cross-border military operations expires Oct. 17.