ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey’s cabinet said yesterday it would seek to extend a mandate from parliament to launch military operations against Kurdish guerrillas in northern Iraq.

Turkish armed forces have conducted several cross-border operations, including a brief land offensive, against suspected targets of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party based in mountainous northern Iraq, since parliament approved a mandate last year.

The decision to seek an extension had been widely expected.

The military’s new chief, General Ilker Basbug, said when he took command of NATO’s second-largest army in August that military operations against the the Kurdistan Workers’ Party would continue.

The USA and the EU have expressed concerns that prolonged Turkish military operations inside Iraq would further destabilize Iraq and the wider region.

The resolution providing the legal basis for operations expires on October 17.

“We as the government decided to send a draft to parliament regarding the extension of permission for cross-border operations for one more year. Talks on the draft will start as soon as parliament opens,” government spokesman Cemil Cicek told a news conference after a cabinet meeting. Parliament reopens in early October.