Turkish helicopter gunships and F16 fighter jets reportedly bombed Kurdish targets inside Iraq today, as Nato defence ministers discussed the cross-border crisis at a summit the Netherlands.

Ankara's troop build-up along the Iraqi border continued with unnamed military sources confirming to Reuters and local news agencies that a series of air strikes had been launched since Sunday.

Kurdish forces were also massing along the border this evening aiming to repel any potential invasion.

The developments came after Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish Prime Minister, gave warning that he could authorise an invasion "at any time", if Iraqi promises to clamp down on Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) rebels came to nothing.

In a response to growing pressure by Turkey, the US and Britain, the Iraqi President yesterday ordered the closure of PKK offices throughout his country.

The current crisis was dramatically heightened with a PKK rebel ambush near the border killed 12 soldiers over the weekend.

Eight Turkish troops have been missing since the attack and Roj TV, a pro-Kurdish television station, aired footage seeming to show the men being held hostage in front of a PKK flag.

A senior Kurdish commander said troops were being mobilised in northern Iraq claiming that the 12,000-strong Kurdish Peshmerga military force was ready for action if the need arose, though he strongly urged a peaceful solution to the crisis.

"Some of them are here in new positions and strategic locations," General Amin Gavarki told The Times, while stressing that the move was purely preparatory in case Turkey decided to launch a major incursion into Iraqi territory.

"We will protect ourselves, we will defend ourselves. As our President [Barzani] says we do not attack anyone and we do not let anyone attack us. We are ready and we will fight until the last breath," he said.

Turkish fighter jets bombed and destroyed several PKK mountain positions in Sirnak, Hakkari, Siirt and Van provinces bordering Iraq and Iran, Anatolia, the semi-official Turkish news agency reported.

Sources said 34 rebels of the outlawed PKK had been killed in the sorties. All Turkish troops involved in the operations returned safely to Turkey.

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