ANKARA, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Turkey's government has given the country's armed forces the authority to conduct a cross-border operation against Kurdish rebels based in northern Iraq, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday.

Despite U.S. opposition to a major operation, Turkey has repeatedly vowed to hunt down the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) guerrillas who use northern Iraq as a base to launch attacks on Turkish territory. (Reporting by Daren Butler)

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