Sat 10 Oct 2007PKK claims it is not Iraq-based to deter
attackTURKEY:The main Kurdish rebel group, the PKK,
tried to deflect a Turkish attack on its bases in northern Iraq by
claiming yesterday it was redeploying into Turkey. Such a
redeployment would remove the main reason for the Turkish
government to mount a cross-border attack into Iraqi Kurdistan; but
Ankara is likely to treat the statement with scepticism.The US was yesterday trying to persuade Turkey against military
action that could destabilise one of the few relatively peaceful
regions in Iraq. But the Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip
Erdogan, kept up the rhetoric, claiming Turkey was ready to pay any
price for a military incursion, including jeopardising US
relations.