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Turkish planes bomb rebel hideouts in northern Iraq

SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq, April 25, 2008 (AFP) - Turkish warplanes bombed Kurdish rebel hideouts in northern Iraq on Friday in the latest in a series of cross-border raids, the spokesman for the rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party said.

The bombing targeted the district of Khwarkuk along the border with Turkey, PKK spokesman Ahmed Danis told AFP.

"The bombing started at around 8:00 pm (1700 GMT) and is still on," he said.

Turkish warplanes have targeted PKK positions in northern Iraq since mid-December. In February, the army conducted a week-long ground offensive against PKK hideouts in the region, where Ankara estimates more than 2,000 militants take refuge.

The Turkish government has a one-year parliamentary authorisation, which expires in October, for raids across the border.

The United States has backed Turkish military action against the rebels by providing real-time intelligence on PKK movements.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist group by Turkey 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.