Turkish jets bombed the bases and camps of the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq, Turkish military said in a statement on Friday.

Turkish fighter jets bombed targets belonging to the PKK organization in north of Iraq late Thursday night and early Friday morning, Turkish General Staff announced in the statement on its website.

The statement said that fighter jets bombed the PKK targets in Qandil Mountain and Hakurk region in northern Iraq.

The fighter jets carried out a precision bombing, hitting the PKK targets, it added.

The air strike was conducted only against the PKK organization and Turkey has displayed the necessary sensitivity, avoiding any harm to civilians, said the statement.

Late on Wednesday, 17 people were killed in clash between PKK members and the Turkish security forces in east Turkey, the Turkish General Staff said in another statement on its web site on Thursday.

The statement said one officer, one sergeant and three village guards were killed by PKK members in the rural area of Pervari town in Siirt province, while the Turkish security forces also killed 12 PKK rebels during the clash.

The armed forces have warned that the PKK might intensify attacks over the summer when more PKK guerrillas arrive in Turkey from mountainous areas in northern Iraq during warmer weather.

The PKK, labelled a terrorist group by the Turkish government, the United States and the European Union, took up arms in 1984 to create an ethnic homeland in southeastern Turkey. Some 40,000 people have been killed in the conflicts.