Turkish warplanes have attacked a group of Kurdish rebel fighters in northern Iraq, the military has said.

The fighters were reportedly trying to cross the border into Turkey on Wednesday.

A Turkish military statement said the group was "rendered ineffective" in the raid, which took place in the Avasin-Basyan area, near the Turkish border town of Cukurca.

It did not say how many fighters were killed.

The military also reported clashes in Turkey's Diyarbakir and Sirnak provinces, where one fighter was said to have been killed.

Continued operation

Rifles, ammunition, explosives and other materials were seized by Turkish soldiers.

Turkish warplanes have targeted positions belonging to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq since mid-December.

Ankara says thousands of PKK rebels use a remote, mountainous part of northern Iraq as a base from which to launch attacks aimed at targets inside Turkey.

In February, the army conducted a week-long ground offensive against PKK hideouts in the region, where the group has long taken refuge.

PHOTO CAPTION 

Turkish troops halt as they patrol a rugged area in the south-eastern Turkish province of Sirnak, bordering Iraq, February 29, 2008.

Al-Jazeera