Heavy Terrorist Losses in Northern Iraq

Turkey said its ground forces had crossed the border [into Northern Iraq] to tackle [Kurdish] rebels late on Thursday after an air and artillery bombardment.

PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said the offensive is limited in scale and troops will return as soon as possible.

The UN secretary general and the US have urged Turkey to show restraint in the offensive [against the PKK.]

A Turkish army statement said: "It has been understood from preliminary information that the terrorists have suffered heavy losses under long-range weapons fire and air strikes."