Turkey bombs Kurdish rebels for second day in Iraq

Turkish fighter jets on Wednesday bombed Kurdish rebel targets in northern Iraq, the second raid in as many days, the military said in a statement. The strike, like the previous one Tuesday, targeted Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) hideouts in the Qandil mountains, where some of the rebels' major bases are located, a statement on the army's website said. "The planes completed their mission successfully and returned safely to their bases," it said. The statement made no mention of PKK losses, while stressing that measures were taken to prevent any damage to the civilian population of the region. The Turkish army has been pounding PKK bases in northern Iraq -- with the help of intelligence from its NATO ally the United States -- under a parliamentary authorisation for cross-border military action, which was first approved in 2007 and renewed for another year in October. Ankara says about 2,000 PKK rebels are holed up in the mountains of northern Iraq, where they allegedly enjoy free movement and obtain weapons and explosives for attacks in Turkey. Turkey has often accused the Iraqi Kurds, who run an autonomous administration in the region, of tolerating and even aiding the PKK, but has said it will still pursue dialogue with them to resolve the problem. Last month, Iraq, Turkey and the United States agreed to form a joint committee to track the threat posed by the PKK and enact measures to stop the militants' activities. Turkish foreign ministry spokesman Burak Ozugergin said Wednesday that talks were under way to outline the details of the committee's structure. "But I can say it will start working very soon," he told a news conference, adding that Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari was to visit Ankara in the coming days. "We expect the Iraqi government and the regional authorities (in northern Iraq) to punctually fulfill the pledges they have made" to act against the PKK, Ozugergin said. The PKK, listed as a terrorist group by Ankara and 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.