Iraq:Turkish warplanes targeting Kurdish rebels bombed villages deep in northern Iraq yesterday, killing one woman and forcing hundreds of people to flee their homes, local officials said.
In Ankara, the Turkish military's general staff said its warplanes had attacked targets of the separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which uses northern Iraq as a base from which to attack security forces in Turkey.
Turkey's NTV television station said 50 aircraft had taken part in the operation.
Turkish ground forces have also been shelling the area where the guerrillas are believed to be operating, the military statement said.
Pro-separatist Roj TV, quoting PKK sources, said five PKK guerrillas were killed in the overnight bombardment. It was not clear whether they died in the air strikes or shelling.
The death of the woman was the first reported civilian fatality since Turkey stepped up shelling and air strikes on suspected PKK bases in the Qandil mountains in October.
Abdullah Ibrahim, the mayor of Sankasar, a town north of the Iraqi Kurdish city of Sulaimaniya, said 200 families had fled their homes in villages in the Sankasar and Jarawa districts and at least 10 houses had been destroyed.
Turkish prime minister Tayyip Erdogan said his government was determined to use every kind of instrument in the fight against terrorism - diplomatic, political and military.
"We will continue to wage this battle for our nation's unity and peace, both inside and outside Turkey," he said.
Fouad Hussein, head of the Kurdistan president's office, confirmed the woman's death and condemned the attack as a violation of Iraqi sovereignty.
Ankara has massed up to 100,000 troops near the border with northern Iraq, along with tanks and artillery.
- (Reuters)