DHAKA: Turkish F-16 and F-4 warplanes have bombed Kurdistan Workers party (PKK) rebel targets in Hakkari province near the Iraqi border.

Turkish media report, says the BBC.

It is the first significant air raid on the PKK since the rebel group declared a ceasefire in March 2013.

Hurriyet daily said the air raids near the south-eastern village of Daglica on Monday caused ‘heavy casualties’.

Kurds are angry at Turkey’s refusal to help defend the Syrian border town of Kobane from Islamic State militants.

The Turkish newspapers Cumhuriyet and Milliyet have also reported clashes on Monday between the PKK and troops in the Tunceli area of east-central Turkey, far from the border.

The Turkish military said the Daglica air strikes were a response to sustained PKK shelling of a military outpost in the area.

The PKK had attacked the outpost for three days with heavy machine guns and rocket launchers, Hurriyet reported.

Last week Kurdish protests gripped Turkey’s Kurdish-majority south-eastern provinces.

At least 31 people died in widespread street clashes, as Kurds vented their anger at Turkey’s passive policy over Kobane.

BDST: 1713 HRS, OCT 14, 2014