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BAGHDAD (CNN) -- Turkish warplanes bombed three villages Monday in a mountainous area of northern Iraq near where the borders of Iraq, Iran and Turkey meet, according to a Turkish military statement.
A spokesman for Iraqi Kurdish regional security forces told CNN there were no casualties since most residents moved out of the area in the wake of Turkish bombardments in recent months.
Turkey has been targeting rebels from the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK -- which has been launching cross-border attacks against Turkey from Iraq.
The PKK has spent two decades fighting for autonomy for Kurds in southeastern Turkey. The United States and European Union consider the group a terrorist organization.
A statement posted on the Turkish Army's Web site said about 70 targets in Avashin, Basyan and Hakurk were hit in air strikes that began at 3 a.m. and lasted 12 hours.
The Turkish military said the targets were identified as "belonging to the PKK terrorist organization by intelligence sources" and the attacks were conducted in a manner designed to avoid civilian casualties.
Several similar attacks in recent weeks caused no casualties, but Turkey's military has claimed that it killed between 150 and 175 Kurdish militants and maybe more in strikes in mid-December. E-mail to a friend 
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