Turkish warplanes crossed the border into northern Iraqi airspace to bomb 16 Kurdish rebel sites, a spokesman for Turkey's military said Friday. There were no reports of any deaths in the air attacks, which occurred late Thursday night. The airstrikes targeted Kurdish rebel positions on Qandil mountain, at Iraq's border with Iran, Brig. Gen. Metin Gurak told reporters in Ankara, Turkey's capital.
Ahmed Deniz, a spokesman for Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, told wire services the airstrikes targeted areas that already were largely abandoned, owing to earlier attacks from neighboring Iran. The raids injured one rebel and two civilians, Deniz said.
Turkish leaders say intelligence shared by the U.S. military has helped Turkey better target the rebel bases. In New York on Friday, Turkish President Abdullah Gul praised what he called the strategic partnership between Turkey and the United States, and called it vital to regional and global security.