Turkish Jets 'Bomb Kurdish Rebel Targets in Iraq'

Turkish warplanes bombed areas of north Iraq in a bid to target rear bases of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) overnight into Thursday, a spokesman for the rebel group said.

"Turkish warplanes struck around midnight against several areas in the Kurdish Iraqi area," Haval Roz told Agence France Presse.

"Four warplanes took part, and did not cause any casualties but damaged farms and orchards," he said. "It started at 11:30 pm (20:30 GMT) and continued until 12:10 am."

Roz said the bombings were near the villages of Laji, Khenera and Boskan, all in the autonomous Kurdistan region of northern Iraq were the PKK maintains rear bases.

The PKK took up arms in Kurdish-majority southeastern Turkey in 1984, sparking a conflict that has claimed about 45,000 lives.