Ankara: Turkish planes on Wednesday bombed Kurdish rebel bases in northern Iraq in retaliation for attacks that killed at least 26 Turkish soldiers, security sources said.

The air raids targeted Qandil region, the main rear base of the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in the mountains of Iraq, the sources said.

About 2,000 PKK rebels are holed up in northern Iraq where they infiltrate Turkish soil to launch attacks, according to Ankara.

A few hundred Turkish soldiers crossed into northern Iraq to hunt down PKK rebels who killed the soldiers, Kurdish news agency Firatnews reported.

Turkish air forces have bombed rebel bases in Iraq several times in recent months, killing nearly 100 rebels, according to the Turkish general staff.

The Turkish parliament earlier this month renewed its mandate for the government to conduct ground incursions into Iraq.