Miliband condemns Kurdish attack

Kurdish rebels, thought to be linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), killed at least 12 soldiers when they blew up a bridge in an ambush on a Turkish army convoy.

The attack came just four days after the parliament in Ankara voted to authorise incursions into Iraq to target guerillas who have conducted a series of cross-border raids in pursuit of their goal of autonomy for the Kurdish-dominated region of south-eastern Turkey.

Iraqi army officers later reported that Turkish forces fired about 15 artillery shells toward Kurdish villages on the Iraqi side of the border early this morning, but caused no casualties.

Turkish leaders have said the parliamentary motion does not mean that a cross-border offensive is imminent.

There are concerns that any incursion could further destabilise the security situation in Iraq, where around 5,000 British troops remain in the southern province of Basra, many hundreds of miles from the Turkish border.

In a statement issued by the Foreign Office in London, Mr Miliband said: "I utterly condemn the latest attacks by the PKK and send our deepest condolences to the families of the victims. I want to express my complete solidarity with the government, armed forces and people of Turkey.

"Let us be clear. The PKK is trying to destroy the Turkish government's efforts to improve the situation of people in the south east of the country, provoke conflict between Turkey and Iraq and damage regional stability.

"Turkey's friends admire the resilience it has shown in seeking to resolve the issue of Iraqi territory being used to support these attacks. The Turkish government is right to seek a solution through dialogue with the Iraqi government. We support the continuation of those efforts and urge the Iraqi government, with the support of the Kurdish regional government, to take the necessary steps to prevent the use of Iraqi territory for these purposes.

"I call on all in the region, especially Iraq, to express their disgust at these attacks. I call on the international community to be unequivocal in its condemnation of PKK terrorism and to support Turkey in restoring stability."