Turkey's military escalated its offensive against Kurdish fighters seeking autonomy in the southeast, with warplanes and helicopters pummeling the mountainous region with bombs, forcing many villagers to flee their homes, witnesses and officials said.

A clash between Turkish troops and the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, sparked the campaign, which entered its 10th day on Thursday. Turkey's Dogan News Agency broadcast images of Turkish attack helicopters firing into mountains around the town of Semdinli in Hakkari province, which borders Iran and Iraq.

Characterizing the operation as serious and strong, Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay told reporters in televised comments on Thursday that the military's campaign was continuing, but didn't provide details.

Turkey has been fighting the PKK since 1984, in a conflict that is estimated to have claimed 40,000 lives, but lawmakers in the region said the current Turkish offensive in Semdinli appeared to be of a larger order of magnitude from the operations periodically conducted by the military.

The scale and duration of the army's offensive suggested the PKK is shifting tactics, analysts said.

"They specialize in hit and run attacks. For them to challenge such a strong army force for 10 days is most unusual. PKK clearly thinks that…regional developments have handed them a golden opportunity," said Atilla Yesilada, a partner at Istanbul Analytics, an Istanbul-based political-risk consultancy.

Turkey's offensive in Semdinli against the PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization by the U.S. and the European Union, comes as Kurds in northern Syria are reported to have taken control of some towns amid the rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad.

While Turkey has built ties with the semiautonomous Kurdish government in northern Iraq, Ankara is wary of a regional movement toward a Kurdish state.

Ankara also is concerned that a Kurdish-controlled region in Syria could become a base for the Turkish PKK. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has threatened military action should that happen.

Esat Canan, who represents Hakkari province as a member of Parliament for the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party, said by telephone from Semdinli that he was meeting with evacuated villagers.

Turkey appears to be sending more soldiers into the region, said Mr. Canan and Yasar Yildiz, a television news cameraman based in the area. They said the state had closed large swaths of the region and information was scarce.

Analysts also cautioned that details about developments were unclear because there appeared to be an informal news embargo on the operation.

No death toll has been reported since the clashes began on July 24. The military general staff and the defense ministry in Ankara haven't released statements about the clashes and didn't respond to calls for comment.
















By EMRE PEKER And JOE PARKINSON