Turkey Says Up To 160 Kurd Rebels Killed In Iraq Strikes

A Turkish soldier sits on a road in the province of Sirnak, near the Turkish-Iraqi border

Turkey's armed forces say that up to 160 Kurdish guerrillas were killed in the military's air and artillery strikes in northern Iraq this month.

The Turkish General Staff said on August 29 that more than 100 Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants were also wounded. The figures could not be confirmed.

The attacks, the first in more than a year on suspected rebel bases in Iraq, were launched after PKK assaults in Turkey killed more than 40 security force personnel in the previous month.

The raids have fuelled tensions between Turkey and Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region after Iraqi Kurdish officials said one air strike killed seven civilians a week ago.

compiled from agency reports