Turkey extends Iraq raid window

The last Turkish ground incursion into Iraq was in February

Turkey's parliament has extended the army's mandate to carry out cross-border raids against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq by one year.

Lawmakers in the capital Ankara extended the term, which expires on 17 October, by 511 votes to 18.

Hours before the vote, an attack near the largely Kurdish city of Diyarbakir killed three policemen and a civilian.

Less than a week ago, Kurdish rebels killed 17 Turkish soldiers in a cross-border attack.

That was the deadliest attack attributed to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) this year.

The Turkish military says it fought back killing 23 rebels but the PKK disputes the figures.

In Wednesday's attack near Diyarbakir, unknown assailants reportedly opened fire on a police bus with long-range weapons. At least 15 policemen were also wounded in the attack.

'Terrorist nests'

Ahead of the parliamentary vote, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Ankara had a right to self-defence against PKK rebels holed up in northern Iraq.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul said that "only these terrorist nests will be attacked" if MPs backed the motion.

"These are terrorist nests located in certain northern Iraqi areas, which the Iraqi government is unable to control," Mr Gul said.

The last Turkish ground incursion into Iraq was in February, but Turkish warplanes and artillery have been pounding suspected PKK targets across the border.

More than 40,000 people are thought to have been killed since 1984, when the PKK launched its campaign for a Kurdish homeland in south-eastern Turkey.

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