Turkish war planes and artillery have bombarded bases of the Kurdish separatist group PKK in a big operation in northern Iraq, the military said today.
An army statement said Turkish planes and artillery attacked 31 PKK targets in northern Iraq's Hakurk region at about midnight Friday.
Turkish TV also reported that Ankara was considering talking to the Iraqi Kurdish government about acting against the PKK, which launches attacks inside Turkey from its bases inside northern Iraq.
Turkey has previously refused to sit at the negotiating table with the Iraqi Kurds and blamed them for not doing enough to drive out the PKK.
The military has stepped up its operations against the PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party) in southeast Turkey and across the border in northern Iraq after a series of deadly attacks by the separatists on Turkish soldiers.
NTV broadcaster said that Turkish authorities wanted to seek the help of Iraqi Kurdish leaders against the PKK. They would consider inviting Nechirvan Barzani, who heads the Iraqi Kurdish regional government, to Turkey for talks.
Turkey's parliament on Wednesday extended for another year a mandate for the military to launch operations against PKK rebels based in northern Iraq.
More than 40,000 people have been killed since the PKK began its armed campaign for an ethnic Kurdish homeland in southeast Turkey in 1984.
Reuters