(Xinhua) -- Turkish General Staff said on Thursday that seven rebels of the banned Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) were neutralized on the 7th day of the cross-border operation into north Iraq, bring the death toll to 237 since the beginning of the operation. In a statement posted on its website, the General Staff said the cross-border ground operation has been underway as it planned and Turkish soldiers were not negatively affected by cold weather conditions due to additional measures. Turkish jets also shelled a group of terrorists, it said. Some 10,000 Turkish troops crossed Iraqi border and entered 20 km inside of the north of Iraq to crush Kurdish separatists one week ago. The Turkish National Security Council said that the cross-border operations against the PKK would continue as long as necessary. Iraq has voiced its grave concern over Turkey's cross-border action, saying it is a violation of Iraq's sovereignty.
The United States has been declining to condemn Turkish incursion in Iraq, saying that the outlawed PKK fighters are "a threat" to Turkey, Iraq, and the United States.