Istanbul, 2008 Jan 15, Al-Manar
 
Turkish warplanes and artillery on Tuesday hit remote areas of northeastern Iraq used by Kurdish rebels but there were no reports of casualties or serious damage, an Iraqi Kurdish official said.
 
Jabbar Yawar, spokesman for the Peshmerga security forces of northern occupied Iraq, said Turkish artillery began shelling around the town of Amadiya in Dahuk province just before midday.
 
Turkish warplanes later bombed near the town of Hakurk close to Iraq's remote, mountainous border with Iran and Turkey.
 
Four Turkish tanks had also crossed the same province towards the Iraqi border, where Turkey has massed up to 100,000 troops.
 
The shelling was the latest reported cross-border attacks by Turkey since two other areas in Dahuk were shelled on January 11, again without causing significant damage or injury.
 
On January 3, a bomb attack blamed on Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) killed six people in Turkey's Diyarbakir.
 
Turkish warplanes repeatedly struck PKK targets in the mountainous north of occupied Iraq in December and troops also made small-scale raids across the border with the aim of crushing the PKK.
 
Turkey says 3,000 PKK rebels are based in the northern occupied Iraqi mountains, from where they launch raids on Turkish targets.
 
Turkey's parliament approved a resolution in October giving the legal basis for operations over one year. Turkey claims the right under international law to carry out cross-border attacks.