Turkey airstrikes kill 55 in northern Iraq

Turkish military jets conducted several cross-border airstrikes against Kurdish militants in northern Iraq, killing at least 55 rebels, state-run Anatolia news agency reported on Saturday.

The strikes by F-16 and F-4 jets targeted caves, houses and camps used by the militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), according to government media.

Between 55 to 60 people were killed in the operation.

Turkish security forces and the outlawed PKK have traded fire on a daily basis since a ceasefire fell apart in late July. Turkey has pursued a two-pronged military campaign against Islamic State fighters in Syria and Kurdish rebels in southeast Turkey and northern Iraq.

Most of the airstrikes have been used against PKK installations. The rebels have responded with a string of attacks against security forces.

Around 150 soldiers and police have been killed in PKK bombings and shootings since the return to open conflict, compared with around 1,100 in the rebel camp, according to pro-government media.

The PKK does not give figures for its dead, making it impossible to confirm the government's claims to be inflicting huge losses.

When the pro-Kurdish Democratic Party (HDP) entered parliament, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) lost its governing majority and has been unable to form a coalition government - leading President Erdogan to declare a re-run of the election on 1 November.

Turkey's deputy prime minister for Kurdish affairs, Yalcın Akdogan, has publicly expressed a similar view, only in reverse, claiming that the peace process collapsed because people in the south-east voted for HDP.

More than 100 municipalities in the southeast have been declared special military security zones since the violence began in late July. In these zones, local commanders and the provincial governor have emergency powers that give them the legal authority to use controversial methods to crack down on opposition.

With the tit-for-tat attacks showing no sign of abating, the government has announced plans to boost a controversial pro-government "Village Guard" militia.

"Following instructions from our prime minister [Ahmet Davutoglu] we will advertise for 5,000 'village guardians' in the press," Interior Minister Selami Altinok was quoted by NTV broadcaster as saying.

The battle between the state and PKK will take centre stage at an anti-terrorism rally addressed by Erdogan in Istanbul on Sunday.

The president's critics accuse him of reigniting a three-decade conflict with the PKK to curry nationalist support for his ruling AKP in the upcoming election.

Some 40,000 people have died since the PKK took up arms in 1984 seeking an independent state for Turkey's Kurdish minority. The rebels have since refocused their demands on securing greater autonomy and cultural rights.