ISTANBUL, Turkey — Turkish warplanes bombed separatist Kurdish rebel targets in northern Iraq on Saturday, a statement posted on the military’s Web site said.
The military vowed to continue operations on both sides of Turkish-Iraqi border ‘‘no matter how the conditions are.’’
Turkish jet fighters bombed rebel bases in northern Iraq Sunday in the first confirmed air assault on Iraqi soil since the U.S.-led invasion.
Saturday’s statement said that the bombing by the warplanes lasted for nearly half an hour, followed by shelling from inside Turkey. It did not specify how deep into Iraqi territory the warplanes penetrated or which areas in Iraq were shelled.
The United States and Iraq have urged Turkey to avoid a major operation against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, in northern Iraq, fearing such an operation would destabilize what has been the calmest region in the country.
Turkish forces have periodically shelled across the border, and have sometimes carried out ‘‘hot pursuits’’ — limited raids on the Iraqi side that sometimes last only a few hours.
In a Nov. 5 meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President Bush declared the PKK a ‘‘common enemy’’ and promised to share intelligence on the group.
The military vowed to continue operations on both sides of Turkish-Iraqi border ‘‘no matter how the conditions are.’’
Turkish jet fighters bombed rebel bases in northern Iraq Sunday in the first confirmed air assault on Iraqi soil since the U.S.-led invasion.
Saturday’s statement said that the bombing by the warplanes lasted for nearly half an hour, followed by shelling from inside Turkey. It did not specify how deep into Iraqi territory the warplanes penetrated or which areas in Iraq were shelled.
The United States and Iraq have urged Turkey to avoid a major operation against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, in northern Iraq, fearing such an operation would destabilize what has been the calmest region in the country.
Turkish forces have periodically shelled across the border, and have sometimes carried out ‘‘hot pursuits’’ — limited raids on the Iraqi side that sometimes last only a few hours.
In a Nov. 5 meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President Bush declared the PKK a ‘‘common enemy’’ and promised to share intelligence on the group.