The raid targeted Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) hideouts in the Qandil mountains, a major rebel stronghold, 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.

The previous air strike was on December 5.

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.

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.

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