By Xinhua
Baghdad : Turkey launched air strikes Tuesday night on rebel targets in northern Iraq, an Iraqi security source said on Wednesday.
Turkish warplane targeted the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants in the Sidekan area of Arbil province, but no casualties had been reported, the source said on conditional of anonymity.
The latest strikes came about a week after Turkey wrapped up across-border ground military operation going after the PKK members.
Earlier in the day, Turkish private NTV said helicopters bombed the Sidekan region, some 40 km inside the border.
Meanwhile, PKK spokesman Ahmed Danis confirmed that Wednesday’s attacks began at 3 a.m. local time (0100 GMT) and continued during the day, with the focus on the Bazger valley area of Arbil province.
“The area is uninhabited and there were no reports of casualties or damage,” said Danis.
Turkey’s military has not yet confirmed the reports.
The Turkish military ended last Friday an eight-day groundincursion into northern Iraq. Turkish army chief Yasar Buyukaniton Monday rejected suggestions that the incursion was cut short by U.S. pressure, saying that the military would launch further strikes on Kurdish rebels if needed.
On Feb. 21, some 10,000 Turkish troops crossed the Iraqi border and rolled 10 km inside to crack down on PKK rebels, who have long taken refuge in the region and used it as a launch pad for attacks across the border.
The PKK, listed by the United States and Turkey as a terrorist group, took up arms against Turkey in 1984 with the aim of creating an ethnic homeland in southeastern Turkey. More than 30,000 people have been killed in the over-two-decade conflict.