Turkish warplanes bomb 13 Kurdish rebel targets in northern Iraq

By Associated Press

4:11 AM EDT, July 24, 2008

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) _ Turkish warplanes bombed 13 Kurdish rebel targets in northern Iraq, the military said Thursday.

Turkey has conducted frequent air raids on suspected positions of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, in northern Iraq. Earlier this year, it also launched a weeklong ground offensive there.

The warplanes attacked rebel targets late Wednesday in the Zab region, near the Turkish border, the military said in a statement posted on its Web site.

The military said it was trying to determine whether there had been rebel casualties. There was no immediate comment from the rebel group.

The PKK has been fighting for self-rule in southeast Turkey since 1984. The violence has killed tens of thousands of people since then.

The rebels use bases in Iraq as a staging ground for cross-border attacks on Turkish targets.

The military said it was determined to press ahead with anti-rebel operations both inside Turkey and across the border in Iraq "according to military needs."