"The bombing began at 4:30 pm (1330 GMT) and continued for an hour. The bombardment targeted old rear bases in the district of Kharkurk near the Turkish border," said Ahmed Danis, spokesman for the rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

The PKK has been fighting for self-rule in southwestern Turkey since 1984 and the conflict has claimed more than 37,000 lives.

Turkish warplanes often bomb the rear bases of the guerrillas, which are situated in the rugged Qandil mountains of northern Iraq near the border with Turkey and Iran.