Turkish air raids target Kurds in Iraq

ANKARA, Turkey, Feb. 5 (UPI) -- The Turkish military announced Tuesday it had conducted air raids on Kurdish positions in northern Iraq and hit 70 targets, Turkish media reported from Ankara.

The military said 11 positions belonging to the Kurdistan Workers Party, a rebel group known by its Kurdish language initials of PKK, were hit, The New Anatolian reported. Turkey has accused the group of launching attacks on Turkey from Iraq as part of their bid to carve out an autonomous Kurdish state.

Iraqi officials said the Monday raids lasted about an hour but there was no report of deaths or injuries,

The military has confirmed making four air raids into Iraq since Dec. 16 and claims as many as 175 PKK members have been killed. Officers said on Sunday, 10 PKK rebels were killed at the end of a three-day ground operation in southeastern Turkey, the report said.