Turkish Daily News reports that the “Turkish army says troops, backed by fighter jets, crossed into northern Iraq late Thursday to hunt down PKK terrorists.” PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the target is terrorists, not Iraqis, and he urged the US and Iraq “to halt terrorism.”

All in all, around 10,000 troops crossed the border “and entered several kilometers into northern Iraqi territory,” according to Turkish media that is. The US says that only a couple of hundreds of Turkish troops crossed the border. The Turkish military said that they would return back home “and entered several kilometers into northern Iraqi territory.”

My girlfriend told me that one of her close relatives is currently operating in Iraq, as part of this offensive. May God protect him and, of course, the others.

It’s “the first major incursion in over a decade.” It’s aim is to “prevent the region from being used by terrorists as a permanent and safe base, and to contribute to stability and domestic peace in Iraq.”

Erdogan also said that it’s for the first time that Turkey “received strong support from the international community.” He added that this is “a result of effective diplomacy.” “We’ll continue working together, especially with the United States and Iraq,” he said.

He went on to congratulate “Chief of General Staff Gen. Yaşar Büyükanıt and top commanders as well as Turkish soldiers whom he described as heroes, and wished that the troops would soon return home safe and sound after bringing about the best results.”

More specifics about the operation:

NTV television said without citing sources that the troops moved 10 kilometer into Iraqi territory, while CNN-Türk reported the troops moved 20-25 kilometers into Iraq. Television footage showed dozens of tanks moving at high speed along the Turkish-Iraqi border.

The operation was reportedly concentrated in the Hakurk region, south of the Turkish border town of Çukurca. The Anatolia news agency reported that warplanes were seen taking off from the air base in Diyarbakır, in southeastern Turkey. It said planes and helicopters were conducting reconnaissance flights over the border region, and that military units were deployed at the border to prevent terrorist infiltration.