US says working with Turkey to solve PKK "problem"

WASHINGTON, July 30 (Reuters) The Pentagon said today it is working with Turkey to resolve a ''serious problem'' posed by the separatist Kurdistan Workers Party, but declined comment on a media report of secret plans to stop rebel violence.

The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which the US State Department lists as a terrorist organization, has escalated attacks on soldiers and civilians in Turkey in recent months, prompting Turkish calls for a cross-border operation against rebels based in northern Iraq.

''We recognize that the PKK is a serious problem and we're working closely with both the government of Iraq and the government of Turkey to resolve this,'' Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters.

But he declined to comment on a US report today that said the Pentagon briefed Congress last week on secret plans for a joint US-Turkish military operation to suppress the rebel movement and capture its leaders.

The PKK, which consists mainly of Turkish Kurds, launched a separatist campaign in 1984. The Turkish government blames PKK violence for more than 30,000 deaths.

The group's goal is to establish an independent, democratic Kurdish state in southeast Turkey, northern Iraq, and parts of Iran and Syria, according to the State Department.

But syndicated columnist Robert Novak said today that US officials plan a US-Turkish operation that if successful would avert a Turkish invasion of Iraq.

Up to now, the Bush administration has focused on diplomacy to ease tensions along the border between Turkey and Iraq's semiautonomous Kurdistan region. The US Treasury Department has also targeted PKK funds flowing through Europe.

But US efforts to stop Kurdish militants in Iraq from attacking Turkey have been meager and unsuccessful, increasing the chances of a retaliatory strike by Ankara, US officials and analysts have warned.

REUTERS JT KP2146