Turkish planes bomb Kurdish rebel targets in Iraq

By Shamal Aqrawi

ARBIL, Iraq (Reuters) - Turkish warplanes bombed 70 Kurdish guerrilla targets inside northern Iraq on Monday in one of the biggest raids for weeks, Turkey's General Staff said.

The Turkish military said its planes had carried out a series of strikes in the Avasin-Basyan and Hakurk regions against the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in one of the largest attacks since 200 targets were hit on December 16.

"Some 70 targets came under fire and our planes, which completed their duties successfully, returned to their bases safely at 3:15 p.m. (1315 GMT)," the military said in statement. It said the raids began at around 3 a.m. (2400 GMT Sunday).

The military said only confirmed PKK targets had been attacked and the "greatest efforts" had been made to minimize the impact of the operation on the civilian population.

A senior Iraqi border security official said five aircraft had been involved in initial raids on three villages. Hours later, two planes carried out strikes against another three locations. He had no information on casualties or damage.

Turkey has been carrying out periodic raids on PKK positions in the mountainous region near Turkey's border to try to crush the rebel group, which wants a separate Kurdish homeland in southeast Turkey.

After the attack in mid-December, officials in northern Iraq said bombs had hit villages, killed one woman and forced hundreds to flee.

The Iraqi security official said the raids had targeted the villages of Khunera, Khwa Kourk and Berkum just inside Iraq.