Kurdistan denies strikes by Turkish warplanes

SULAIMANIYA, Iraq (Reuters) - The Kurdistan regional government in northern Iraq on Tuesday denied unconfirmed television reports that Turkish military helicopters seeking Kurdish rebels had bombed two empty villages in the area.

Jamal Abdullah, a spokesman for the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government, said two Turkish warplanes had dropped flares as they flew over a village near Zakho near the Turkish border in northern Iraq on Monday.

"There were no artillery shelling or bombs from warplanes," Abdullah said. "That was yesterday. Nothing happened today."

(Reporting by Sherko Raouf; editing by Sami Aboudi)