The bombing raid started at 11:00 p.m. (2000 GMT) on Thursday and targetted Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) positions in the Qandil mountains, a major rebel stronghold, a military statement said.

The Turkish government has given a one-year parliamentary authorisation for cross-border raids which expires in October.

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.