TURKEY 'HIT PKK TARGETS IN IRAQ' !

Turkish fighter planes have bombed suspected Kurdish separatist positions in northern Iraq.

Turkish military sources said the attacks, which started late on Saturday, targeted members of the rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

There was no word on casualties. There has been no official comment from the Turkish armed forces on the raid.

Turkey has stepped up its cross-border operations into Iraq in recent months, amid mounting casualties on both sides.

Turkey has accused Iraq of failing to stop the PKK - who are fighting for greater autonomy in south-eastern Turkey - from using its northern areas as a safe haven

PKK targets in the Hakurke region of northern Iraq were hit late on Saturday, and several targets near the Iraqi-Turkish border were bombed on Sunday, the Turkish sources said.

Soldiers were also carrying out a ground offensive against rebels seen inside Turkey close to the Iraqi border, the sources said.

No Iraqis were hurt in the attacks, an Iraqi military official in the Kurdish border region told Reuters news agency.

"This is becoming routine - Turkish warplanes targeting the border area. We are not worried about civilian casualties because these areas are deserted," Lt-Col Ihsan Kamal said. He said he had no information on PKK casualties.

The PKK - which is treated as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the EU and US - has waged a violent campaign for Kurdish autonomy since 1984, resulting in more than 40,000 deaths.

BBC NEWS REPORT.