ANKARA — The Turkish government will seek parliamentary approval for a military operation against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, a government spokesman said today, taking action on one of two major issues straining relations with Washington.

The spokesman, Cemil Cicek, said he hoped Parliament would vote on the motion this week — passage is considered likely — but indicated that the government would still prefer a solution to the conflict that does not involve a cross-border offensive.

“Our hope is that there will be no need to use this motion,” Mr. Cicek said.

Prime Minister Erdogan’s government twice acquired similar authorizations from the Parliament in 2003, but did not act on them.

Mr. Cicek insisted the only target was the rebel Kurdistan Workers’ Party, known as the PKK.

“We have always respected the sovereignty of Iraq, which is a friendly and brotherly country to us,” Mr. Cicek said. “But the reality that everyone knows is that this terrorist organization, which has bases in the north of Iraq, is attacking the territorial integrity of Turkey and its citizens.”

The statement appeared to be aimed at reassuring Iraq’s central government as well as Iraqi Kurds, who run their own administration in northern Iraq.

Fighting along the border with Iraq was reported over the weekend, where Turkey’s military said it “responded heavily” to attacks from northern Iraq by Kurdish fighters on Friday. Iraqi Kurds reported that Turkish artillery hit their territory.

A senior rebel commander, Duran Kalkan, said the Turkish military would suffer a serious blow if it launches a cross-border offensive, saying it would “be bogged down in a quagmire,” the pro-Kurdish Firat news agency reported today.