Turkish Jets Pound 50 Kurd Rebel Targets in Iraq

Turkish jets struck more than 50 Kurdish rebel targets in northern Iraq where members of the outlawed separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) are based, military sources said Wednesday.

"Sixteen F-16 fighter jets took off from their base in Diyarbakir in the southeast at around 20:00 GMT Tuesday and bombed the (rebel) targets in Qandil mountain in northern Iraq, 90 kilometers from the border," military sources said.

"More than 50 targets were hit in the three-hour operation."

Turkey says around 2,000 Kurdish rebels are hiding in the mountainous region on the Iraqi side of the border.

The PKK listed as a terrorist group by Turkey and much of the international community took up arms for autonomy in the Kurdish-majority southeast in 1984, sparking an insurgency which have claimed more than 40,000 lives.

The raids, the first in several weeks, come as the long-running conflict between the rebels and Turkey appears to reignite and threatens to derail unconfirmed peace talks between Ankara and jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan.