Turkey's military said on Monday that eight troops were missing following clashes with Kurdish fighters on the Iraqi border. 34 Kurds and at least 12 Turkish servicemen were killed last Sunday in an ambush by Kurdish militants.
Turkish parliament sanctioned last week military cross-border operations against the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), based in north Iraq, following an earlier government request. The PKK says it is currently holding the missing Turkish soldiers hostage.
"We are, at the moment, awaiting [developments], but Iraq should know that we can use our mandate for a military cross-border operation at anytime," Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at a news conference following a meeting in London with his British counterpart, Gordon Brown.
The Turkish premier added that he hoped for the resolution of the issue by diplomatic means, and thanked his British counterpart for its support of Turkish efforts.
On Tuesday, the Turkish radio and television state regulating body prohibited the broadcasting of any reports of terrorist attacks carried out by Kurdish fighters.
The PKK, listed by the U.S., NATO and the EU as a terrorist organization, has been fighting for autonomy status in southeast Turkey for nearly 25 years. The conflict has so far claimed about 40,000 lives.
