Feb. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Turkey said the death toll in three days of battles with Kurdish fighters in northern Iraq reached 127, as the U.S. urged an end to the incursion.

The Turkish armed forces have killed 112 militants of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, including 33 today, the military said on its Web site. Fifteen Turkish soldiers have also died in the conflict, it said.

``We will continue the operation with the same determination and heroism until planned targets are reached,'' the military said, adding that jets, artillery and helicopters had hit 63 suspected PKK targets in mountainous northern Iraq since troops went over the border on Feb. 21.

The U.S., the United Nations and Germany have called on Turkey to show restraint in dealing with the threat of the PKK from northern Iraq. The Kurdish-controlled region has remained relatively peaceful since the U.S.-led invasion five years ago, and the U.S. military is relying on Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga soldiers to help battle insurgents in and around Baghdad.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the Turkish army should wrap up the campaign, adding Turkey won't be able to solve the problem of cross-border Kurdish raids through purely military means.

``I would hope that it would be short, that it would be precise and avoid the loss of innocent life, and that they leave as quickly as they can accomplish their mission,'' Gates told reporters today in Canberra, Australia.

Air Strikes

The operation, the culmination of two months of air strikes, is the latest Turkish attempt to neutralize about 4,000 PKK fighters who retreated to northern Iraq after their leader Abdullah Ocalan was captured by Turkey and put on trial in 1999.

A helicopter was also destroyed during fighting today, the army said, without giving further details. Bahoz Erdal, a leader of the PKK, told the Netherlands-based Firat news agency that the group's fighters shot the aircraft down.

Turkey has fought the PKK for two decades at the cost of almost 40,000 lives. The U.S. and the European Union brand the group as terrorists.

While expressing sympathy for the Turkish goal of blunting the PKK, Gates urged Turkish leaders to battle the group through political and economic as well as military methods. He said Turkey should reach out to its Kurdish population through such means as a way of eroding the PKK's base of support.

Economic Measures

``These economic and political measures are really important,'' Gates said. ``Because after a certain point people become inured to military attacks. If you don't blend them with these kinds of non-military initiatives, then at a certain point I think that the military efforts become less and less effective.''

Supporters of the PKK should widen the conflict with Turkey to the nation's cities, Erdal said. The group is calling on Kurdish youths to attack targets in Istanbul and other major population centers, set fire to cars and disrupt everyday life, he said.

Gates said he didn't think the Turkish incursion threatened to destabilize the Iraqi government. He called on Turkish officials to coordinate with their Iraqi counterparts as closely as possible in informing them of their plans.

The Kurdish regional government that holds sway in northern Iraq has become ``much more active'' in trying to control the PKK fighters based in their area, he said.

Gates is scheduled to meet with Turkish leaders on Feb. 28 in Ankara, toward the end of an eight-day Asian trip.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ken Fireman in Canberra at kfireman1@bloomberg.netMark Bentley in Ankara at mbentley3@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: February 24, 2008 12:12 EST