Turkish military said Saturday that its warplanes hit the targets of the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) in Hakurk region in Iraq's north on Friday night.

The Turkish General Staff said in a statement posted on its website that the warplanes have bombed 31 PKK targets in northern Iraq since Oct. 4.

The Turkish military has earlier reported that 17 of its soldiers were killed on Oct. 3 when the PKK based in northern Iraq attacked Aktutun Gendarmerie Border Unit in Semdinli town in the province of Hakkari, while 23 PKK militants were also killed in the clashes.

The anger of the Turkish people is mounting after the deadliest attack happened in the year and Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and the powerful military have pledged to intensify a campaign to crush the outlawed PKK.

The PKK took up arms in 1984 with the aim of creating an ethnic homeland in southeastern Turkey. Some 40,000 people have been killed in the over-two-decade conflict.

Ankara has conducted frequent air raids on suspected positions of the PKK in northern Iraq. In February, Ankara also launched an eight-day cross-border ground incursion against PKK rebels.

(Xinhua News Agency October 11, 2008)