Amid expressions of concern from the European Union and the United Nations, the Turkish military denied there were any civilian casualties, while the rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) vowed to retaliate against Turkish targets.

"We strongly condemn this cruel attack on Iraqi sovereignty and on the principle of friendly neighbourhood," the Iraqi parliament said in a statement that spoke of "several innocent civilian casualties".

Sunday's raids saw Turkish warplanes bomb a number of villages in northern Iraq, targeting rear-bases of the PKK, which said seven people were killed, including two civilians.

"Our people have every right to defend themselves and to retaliate," the rebel group said in a statement carried by the Firat news agency, considered to be a PKK mouthpiece.

"This right is sacred and our people will do what is required," the statement said.

Residents said schools and bridges were also destroyed in the foothills of the Qandil mountains along the border.

"We all were asleep when the warplanes struck our village," said Hassan Ibrahim, 75, a farmer from the village of Qalatuqa along the Iraq-Turkey border.

"When the attack came, I got out of the house. We were all suffocating because of the dust."

He said Turkish warplanes had been overflying the region for the past month.

"Earlier it was Saddam who destroyed our homes, now it is the Turks," an angry Ibrahim told AFP as he prepared to leave his home.

Witnesses said the bombings had razed dozens of buildings in Qalatuqa, including a soon-to-be-opened school building.

Asaka Abdullah, 40, said she woke up shocked with the noise of the bombings.

"I was asleep when the sound of the explosion woke me up. When I stepped out of my house I saw people fleeing barefoot," she said.

"We really have no choice but to flee to the mountains to escape the bombs."

In Baghdad, parliament demanded that Ankara refrain from military action and focus on dialogue to solve the PKK problem.

The PKK has been fighting for self-rule in southeastern Turkey since 1984. More than 37,000 people have died on both sides of the conflict.

Turkey has threatened a full-scale incursion against PKK bases in northern Iraq unless Baghdad and the United States make greater efforts to curb the rebels' cross-border operations.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari condemned the Turkish air strikes.

"We understand Turkish concerns over the presence of PKK, but yesterday there was some collateral damages to civilians... Such action must be coordinated with the Iraqi government," said Zebari, who did not give casualty figures.

The European Union expressed concern in a statement issued by Portugal, which holds the bloc's rotating presidency.

"The presidency calls on the Turkish authorities to exercise restraint, to respect the territorial integrity of Iraq and refrain from taking any military action that could undermine regional peace and stability," it said.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon voiced concern about both the Turkish air strikes and the PKK's use of Iraqi bases to mount attacks inside Turkey.

"The secretary general is concerned that Turkey has launched air strikes into northern Iraq yesterday and that there have been reports of possible civilian casualties," UN spokeswoman Marie Okabe said.

Ban was also alarmed by "the continued incursions" of PKK fighters "carrying out terrorist attacks in Turkey from northern Iraq," she added.

The UN chief appealed to the governments of Iraq and Turkey "to work together to prevent this kind of attacks from continuing."

On Sunday, Ankara's most senior general Yasar Buyukanit said Turkey had received tacit US consent for the operation by providing "intelligence" and opening up northern Iraqi airspace.

The US State Department declined to confirm or deny what help might have been given, saying only that the strikes were "in keeping with" past air raids in northern Iraq.

"That said, we want to make sure that the actions that are taken are done in an appropriate way, that hit only those targets that are PKK and avoid civilian casualties," said State Department spokesman Tom Casey.

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