Turkey's president on Thursday said his country's "patience has come to an end" over Kurdish rebels operating in Iraq, but a high-level Iraqi delegation started a mission in Ankara in an effort to keep Turkey from launching a full-scale cross-border offensive against the guerrillas.
President Abdullah Gul, in the opening speech of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization, attacked the Kurdistan Workers' Party use of Iraqi soil as a base to attack Turkey.
He made the comments amid reports of Turkish airstrikes and ground operations against PKK positions on both sides of the mountainous, rugged border region. One report, posted Thursday on the Turkish military Web site, said more than 30 "terrorists" preparing for an attack along the border late Tuesday were killed. 
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CNN's Hada Messia in Ankara and Jennifer Deaton in Baghdad contributed to this report.
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