Turkish warplanes and attack helicopters have struck Kurdish rebel targets inside Iraq after a rebel attack killed eight Turkish soldiers, Turkey's military said Wednesday — the latest attempt by Turkey to fight off a persistent threat from Kurdish insurgents seeking regional autonomy.

Kurdish rebels attacked Turkish military units with mortars and rocket-propelled grenades Tuesday in southeastern Turkey. The clash — one of the fiercest in several months — left at least 26 rebels dead along with the eight soldiers. The military also said one rebel was captured alive.

Kurdish rebels use northern Iraq as a springboard for attacks on Turkish targets in their decades-long fight for autonomy in Turkey's Kurdish-dominated southeast. The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people since rebels of the Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK took up arms in 1984.

Numerous Turkish air