The air force launched an "effective" operation against 28 targets on the Qandil, Hakurk, Avasin-Basyan and Zap regions of northern Iraq on Thursday, the military said in a statement on its website.

In coordination with the air strikes, 96 more targets in the region were kept under intense artillery fire, the statement said.

"The targets were positively identified as belonging to the PKK, and the necessary sensitivity is paid to protect civilians," it said.

"The actions under the struggle against terror will go on with determination inside and outside the country based on the requirements of military needs," it added.

The first strike came on Wednesday night after a deadly attack by the rebel group against a military unit in Cukurca town in southeast Turkey, killing nine security officials.

It is the first time in more than a year that the Turkish military has carried out air strikes on PKK bases in northern Iraq.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist group by Ankara and much of the international community, took up arms in the Kurdish-majority southeast in 1984, sparking a conflict that has claimed about 45,000 lives.