Background:

A top Turkish general said on July 19 the United States had given direct orders for the capture of rebel Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leaders in Iraq, Turkish media reported. General Ilker Basbug, second in command at Turkey's politically influential General Staff, said Turkey had the right to stage an incursion into Iraq against PKK guerrillas as a last resort if no action was taken. A patrol of Turkish Kurd rebels, formerly known as the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) return to their camp in the heart of northern Iraq's remote Qandil mountains June 15, 2004. Photo by Sasa Kralj/Reuters

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