"We announce a ceasefire and a stop to military operations against the Turkish army from tonight (Sunday) and for a nine-day period on the occasion of the Eid," said the spokesman for the Kurdistan Workers' Party, the PKK.

"By making this gesture we wish to demonstrate our desire for peace and to find a political solution to the problem," said Danis, who was speaking from the mountainous Qandil region on the borders with Iraq, Iran and Turkey.

"We hope that Turkey will take measures to pave the way for a dialogue instead of the military option," he added.

The rebels have repeatedly attacked Turkey from their mountain hideouts in Iraq and Turkey has shelled suspected PKK bases across the border in a conflict that has caused tensions between the two states.

In September the PKK also observed a ceasefire to mark the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

The Turkish army has been attacking PKK targets in northern Iraq -- using intelligence supplied by its ally the United States -- under a fresh one-year mandate which was approved by parliament in Ankara in October.

The most recent air strike reported by the Turkish army was on Friday.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist group by much of the international community, took up arms for self-rule in Turkey's Kurdish-majority southeast in 1984, sparking a conflict that has claimed about 44,000 lives.

The United States, Iraq, and Turkey condemned the PKK as a "terrorist" group in November and formed a joint committee to combat them, according to the US embassy in Iraq.

Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of the Sacrifice, caps the annual hajj pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. It begins on Monday.