July 25, 2008	Friday	Rajab 21, 1429

ANKARA, July 24: Turkish warplanes bombed Kurdish rebel hideouts in northern Iraq overnight — the latest in a series of air raids in the region since mid-December — the military said on 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, said a statement posted on the army’s website.

“All 13 targets were successfully hit,” it said, adding seven shelters, four explosive storage areas and two caves used by the rebels were “completely destroyed”.

The general staff also released black-and-white images which it said showed the targets being hit.

Work is underway to determine how many PKK militants were killed, it added.

A PKK spokesman in Iraq said the rebels did not suffer any losses in the bombing which began at 10:30 pm (2030 GMT) and targeted the Gamgo and Obash areas in the Zap region.

“The bombing lasted until midnight. The PKK forces have not suffered any casualties, because we have taken all the necessary precautions to reduce our losses,” Ahmed Danis phoned from his base in the Qandil mountains in northern 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.

In the latest episode of bloodshed inside Turkey, two children were killed on Thursday in a mine blast outside a small village near the town of Lice in the southeastern province of Diyarbakir, a security source said.

Another child and an adult were also injured in the explosion which occurred when the children tinkered with the mine they found in a field outside the village, the source added.

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