ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey's Defense Ministry says the military has conducted airstrikes against Kurdish rebel targets in Iraq's Sinjar and Mount Karajak regions.

A ministry statement, carried by state-run Anadolu Agency, said jets on Thursday targeted shelters, caves, tunnels and depots used by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, which sent fighters to Sinjar to help Iraqi Kurds fight the Islamic State group there.

It said the operation aimed to secure Turkey's border and prevent terror attacks, adding that care was exercised to prevent civilian casualties.

The attack came a day after Turkey's president said the military would launch a new operation in northern Syria, to force U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish militia out of a region east of the Euphrates River.

Turkey considers the militia group to be an extension of the PKK.