ANKARA, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- Turkish military said that its warplanes hit targets of the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) in Qandil region in Iraq's north on Friday.

    This was the seventh time that the Turkish warplanes have bombed PKK targets in several regions in northern Iraq since Oct. 4.

    The Turkish General Staff said in a statement posted on its website that the warplanes have all safely returned to their bases in Turkey.

    Seventeen Turkish soldiers were killed on Oct. 3, when PKK militants based in northern Iraq attacked Aktutun Gendarmerie Border Unit in Semdinli town in the province of Hakkari. 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 Recep 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.