World Bulletin / News Desk

Turkish army has said its warplanes hit targets of the militant Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in northern Iraq after a coordinated attacks in southeastern Turkish province of Hakkari that left eight Turkish soldiers killed.

The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) said in a statement that the fighter jets bombed several targets in northern Iraq, without giving a detailed information with respect to the air operation and the causalities.

The statement also added that at least 26 militants killed in operations in areas close to Iraqi border this week.

PKK militants attacked Turkish military units with mortars and rocket-propelled grenades on Tuesday in southeastern Turkey, sparking clashes that killed 26 militants and eight soldiers. The attack drew a strong condemnation from Turkey's leaders.

Another 16 soldiers were wounded in the attack in the Dağlıca area of Hakkari province, which borders northern Iraq's Kurdish areas.

A similar militant attack in the same area in late 2007, when 12 Turkish soldiers died, triggered an eight-day incursion by the Turkish military into Iraq in February 2008. Militants use northern Iraq as a base to launch attacks on Turkish troops.

An estimated 20 percent of Turkey's 75 million people are Kurds. Tuesday's attack came amid efforts by the government to try to reconcile with the Kurdish minority by granting more cultural rights.

The 27-nation EU, which Turkey is striving to join, has pushed the Turkish government to grant more rights to the Kurds. But EU countries also have urged Kurdish lawmakers to distance themselves from the PKK.