The New Nation - Internet Edition

AP, Baghdad

The Turkish army sent soldiers about 1.5 miles into northern Iraq on Tuesday, a spokesman for Kurdish security forces said.

The troops crossed into an area near the border with Iran, about 75 miles north of the city of Irbil, said Jabar Yawar, a spokesman for Kurdistan's Peshmerga security forces.

It was not immediately clear what time the incursion took place or whether the Turkish troops were still in Iraq.

Turkish Foreign Ministry officials declined to comment on reports of Turkish incursion.

On Sunday, Turkey conducted airstrikes against rebels from the Kurdish Workers' Party, or PKK, in northern Iraq. As many as 50 fighter jets were involved in the attack, the biggest against the PKK in years.

The Iraqi parliament on Monday condemned the bombing, calling it an "outrageous" violation of Iraq's sovereignty that killed innocent civilians.

The United States and Iraq have urged Turkey to avoid a large-scale attack on rebel bases inside Iraq, fearing such an operation would destabilize what has been the calmest region in the country.