ANKARA, July 29 (Xinhua) -- Turkish warplanes bombed Kurdish rebels holed up in Mount Qandil region of northern Iraq Tuesday, said the Turkish military.

    Turkish General Staff said in a statement posted on its website that a group of 30-40 militants of the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) were spotted in and outside a cave used as a hide-out in Qandil region in northern Iraq.

    The safe house was destroyed in the air strike, said the army, adding that the number of PKK rebels killed in the operation could not be confirmed till now.

    The statement also said another target was hit by Turkish fighter jets in Zap region.

    Turkey has conducted frequent air raids on suspected positions of the PKK in northern Iraq. In February, it also launched an eight-day ground incursion into Iraq.

    The PKK, listed by the United States and Turkey as a terrorist group, took up arms in 1984 with the aim of creating an ethnic homeland in southeast Turkey. About 40,000 people have been killed in the over-two-decade conflict.