ANKARA: Turkish warplanes bombed Kurdish rebel hideouts in northern Iraq overnight in the latest air raid in the region since mid-December, the military said Thursday.

The "intensive" strike targeted Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) hideouts in the Zap area along the Turkish frontier, which is known as a major rebel stronghold, it said in a statement posted on its website.

"All 13 targets were successfully hit," it said, adding that work was under way to determine how many PKK militants were killed.

"Operations as part of the fight against terrorism will continue with determination both at home and abroad."

Turkish warplanes have been bombing PKK positions in the mountains of northern Iraq since December 16.

In February, the army also conducted a week-long ground offensive against PKK bases in the region, killing at least 240 militants and destroying dozens of hideouts, training camps and ammunition depots.

Ankara estimates that more than 2,000 militants take refuge in Kurdish-run northern Iraq, using camps there as a jumping board for attacks on Turkish targets across the border.

The Turkish government has a one-year parliamentary authorisation for cross-border military action against the PKK, which expires in October.

The United States has backed its NATO ally by providing real-time intelligence on PKK movements in Iraq.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist group by Ankara and much of the international community, has been fighting for self-rule in Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast since 1984. The conflict has claimed more than 37,000 lives.

- AFP/jk