Turkish military says hits 13 targets in N.Iraq

Thu, Jul 24 05:52 PM

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey's military said on Thursday its fighter jets hit 13 Kurdish separatist targets in northern Iraq the previous day and said it was still trying to confirm what losses were suffered by the rebels.

Operations will continue against the separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), the military said in a statement on its website.

The PKK uses northern Iraq as a base from which to launch attacks on the Turkish military.

"Targets proven to belong to the terrorist organisation PKK/KONGRA-GEL in northern Iraq's Zap region were fired upon successfully by Turkish fighter jets on July 23, 2008," the statement said.

The military said only PKK targets were fired upon and that no civilian casualties or damage were incurred.

Iraqi officials confirmed the Turkish bombings.

A senior officer in the Iraqi Border Command in the north of the country said Turkish warplanes bombarded two areas. He was not aware of any casualties but said the areas were deserted.

The officer, who declined to be named, said Wednesday's bombing lasted for about 45 minutes in the villages of Naira Waraikan and Nuhaili villages in Dahok province.

The head of operations of the Iraqi Border Command's division for Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, Major-General Omar Sharif, said there were no casualties.

The operation took place a week after heavy fighting between Kurdish guerrillas and the military in southeast Turkey. Some 40,000 troops are currently stationed along Turkey's border with Iraq.

More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict since the PKK took up arms against the state in 1984 with the aim of carving out an ethnic homeland in eastern Turkey.

The European Union and the United States consider the PKK a terrorist organisation, as does Turkey.

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