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Heading into battle....Turkish soldiers cross the border into northern Iraq. A ground offensive, which began on Thursday, aimed at crushing Kurdish rebels is causing deepening alarm in this most volatile of regions. The US is leading the calls for Turkey to end its campaign as soon as possible. The Iraqi government is urging Ankara to hold crisis talks while the leadership of the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq is warning Turkey that fighting in civilian areas will not be tolerated. Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani said Kurdish forces would retaliate if provoked. (SOUNDBITE) (Kurdish) KURDISTAN PRIME MINISTER NECHIRVAN BARZANI SAYING: "We don't want to fight anyone, but if they fight us, we will defend ourselves." The Kurdish government is calling on President Bush to intervene. Turkey insists that it's acting in self defence...Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told a party rally that the country wasn't looking to start a war. (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) TURKISH PRIME MINISTER TAYYIP ERDOGAN SAYING: "Everybody should know that we don't have any other purpose other than to secure our citizen's life and property." Turkish commanders say they've killed scores of rebels while the PKK says it's shot down a Turkish Cobra attack helicopter. With fighting taking place in the snow-capped mountains, it's impossible to verify the claims of either side. The exact scale of the ground operation is another unknown, with conflicting reports of anywhere between several hundred and 10,000 Turkish troops taking part. The latest still pictures released by the General Staff aren't giving away too much either. But what is clear is the campaign is costing lives. The coffins of dead Turkish soldiers are returning home...at least a dozen so far, though the PKK says its killed many more. Turkish public opinion is firmly behind the offensive...for now. A top Kurdish PKK commander is urging Kurds living in Turkish cities to rise up and fight from within. Clashes between pro- and anti-Kurdish groups in the town of Malatya in Turkey's predominantly Kurdish southeastern region are a sharp reminder of what's at stake here. Helen Long, Reuters