"The allies expressed full solidarity with Turkey in the face of these horrible terrorist attacks against Turkish soldiers and civilians," NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said.

While he did say that it was important for Turkey to show "restraint", Scheffer said: "I think the Turkish government is showing remarkable restraint under the present circumstances."

Scheffer, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of NATO defence ministers, said that Turkish Defence Minister Mehmet Vecdi Gonul had informed the meeting about developments.

Turkish warplanes reportedly bombed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) targets along the Iraqi border Wednesday, as leaders met to consider whether to launch operations across the frontier.

A NATO diplomat said, on condition that he not be named, that Gonul had thanked Scheffer for his statements of support and the allies for understanding Turkey's position.

"He explained the political situation in Turkey ... and the enormous political pressure that the government is under from the public because of these continuing attacks," the diplomat said.

"He welcomed statements by the Iraqi government that it would take action against the PKK inside Iraq and of course expressed his wish that this would happen as quickly as possible."


AFP