Iraq's Kurdistan region has urged
Turkish Kurd separatist forces of the PKK to leave civilian areas amid
continuing Turkish air strikes.
The call follows reports that civilians have been killed in Turkish raids on PKK targets which resumed a week ago.
Turkey's
official news agency says about 260 Kurdish fighters have been killed
in strikes in northern Iraq and Turkey itself since then.
The PKK has not released any casualty figures.
Turkey has carried out hundreds of raids on the rebel group's bases on both sides of the Iraq-Turkey border. Explainer: Turkey v Islamic State v the Kurds
At
the same time, it is bombing Islamic State militants in Syria in an
effort to push them back from Turkey's borders. Turkey had not
previously been involved in fighting in Syria's conflict.
'Keep battlefield away'
Further
Turkish air raids were reported overnight, this time in the Rawanduz
area east of Erbil, capital of Iraq's Kurdish region.
At
least six people were killed and several more wounded in the town of
Zarkel, local officials said. They reportedly included at least two
women.
An Iraq-based PKK activist told Associated Press that at least six homes were destroyed and eight civilians were killed.
"We condemn this bombardment that led to the martyrdom of people from
the Kurdistan region and call on Turkey not to bombard civilians again,"
Iraqi Kurdish President Massoud Barzani said in a statement.
The past week has seen a series of deadly attacks inside Turkey blamed on the PKK
Urging the PKK to withdraw its
fighters from civilian areas in the region, he said the separatists
"must keep the battlefield away from the Kurdistan region in order for
civilians not to become victims of this war".
The statement also called on the Turkish government and the PKK to resume peace talks.
The
strikes against PKK camps in northern Iraq, which began last week, were
the first since March 2013, when a ceasefire was called.
Turkish
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said last week that it was "not possible
to continue the peace process with those who threaten our national unity
and brotherhood".
Turkey and a number of Western countries regard the PKK as a terrorist organisation.
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