The CNN-Turk and NTV news channels, quoting local news agencies, said the target was an abandoned police post built under Saddam Hussein in the Vansora district near Zakho, the closest Iraqi town to the Turkish border.

The Turkish general staff was not immediately available for comment and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters he was "not aware" of such action.

The Turkish parliament last month authorized the government to order troops into northern Iraq if necessary to strike at bases used by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) to launch attacks into Turkish territory.

Turkey subsequently massed some 100,000 troops and military equipment on the Iraqi border.

The United States promised to provide Turkey with real time intelligence to strike at the PKK during a meeting at the White House last week between Erdogan and US President George W. Bush.