WRAP Turkish troops patrolling border area with Iraq ADDS Iraqi side

(3 Nov 2007) Sirnak, Turkey 1. Various of soldiers patrolling road 2. Family with donkey, soldier behind 3. Various of soldiers patrolling along road Zakho, Iraq 4. Wide of cars on street 5. Wide of trucks lined up 6. Wide of flag flying above border sign reading "You are about to leave Iraq, Iraq border post" 7. Wide of man in truck having his papers checked by border soldier 8. Wide of road sign 9. Wide of truck driving by 10. Wide of Iraqi and Turkish flags flying above telephone lines 11. Wide of stationary trucks and drivers 12. Wide of truck drivers 13. Wide of Turkish flag 14. Wide of Turkish border (shot from the Iraqi side of the border) 15. Wide of Iraqi border with sign reading "farewell" 16. Mid of Turkish flag 17. Pan of Turkish border (shot from the Iraqi side of the border) 18. Pan of parked trucks 19. Close-up sign reading "Iraq border post" 20. Pan of trucks at petrol station STORYLINE: As Turkey planned a possible cross-border incursion to attack Kurdish rebels in Iraq, Turkish troops patrolled the border area with Iraq looking for mines on Saturday morning. On the Iraqi side of the border in Zakho, traffic was seen moving slowly into Turkey despite a heavy bank-up of vehicles. Faced with the prospect of another front opening in the already difficult Iraq war, the US struggled on Friday to persuade Turkey not to send its army across the Iraqi border to attack guerrillas who use the remote terrain to launch strikes inside Turkey. US Secretary of State Condoleezza met Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in Istanbul on Friday, ahead of the conference on Iraq that is likely to be dominated by the ongoing crisis on the Iraqi-Turkish border. Rice urged calm and cooperation during her meeting with al-Maliki, whose government has said it will not stand for any Turkish cross-border assault. She made a similar argument in a string of meetings earlier with senior Turkish officials who are fed up with rebel attacks and insist that Turkey will do what it must to stop them. Rice said on Friday that Kurdish rebels based in northern Iraq were a "common threat" to the U.S., Iraq and Turkey, and she pledged an intensified effort by Washington to help confront the guerrillas. She added that Washington considers the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, a militant organisation and that no one should doubt the United States' commitment to help solve the issue. She referred to the PKK as a common enemy of Iraq, Turkey and the United States. Attacks by the Kurdish against Turkish positions over the last month have left 47 dead, including 35 soldiers, according to government and media reports. Washington fears that a Turkish cross-border incursion would bring instability to what has been the calmest part of Iraq, and could set a precedent for other countries, like Iran, who also have issues with Kurdish rebels. But Ankara has been resolute that it wants to hear concrete measures that the United States will take against the rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, or it will launch an offensive. However Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan indicated on Friday that Turkey might be willing to consult with Washington before moving ahead with a cross-border attack on the rebels. Many Turks are furious with the United States for its perceived failure to pressure Iraq into cracking down on the PKK, which operates from bases in the semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region of Iraq. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...