The army command said it hit "three shelters belonging to the separatist terrorist organisation," referring to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) rebels, after exploratory flights located the hideouts on June 26-30.

The jets safely returned to their bases in Turkey, the statement added, without indicating when the air strike happened.

The strike is the third since a rebel attack on an army outpost near the Iraqi border last month killed eight Turkish soldiers and wounded another 19. Local officials said around 20 rebels were killed in the attack.

The bombings of rebel bases come amid government efforts to soften tensions with the Kurdish minority, but a recent spike in PKK violence in the southeast may force the government to keep up military action, according to analysts.

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

The army statement came as an Istanbul court on Monday began a high-profile trial of some 200 suspects alleged to be linked to the Union of Kurdistan Communities, which authorities say is a wing of the PKK.