The Turkish air force conducted air strikes in northern Iraq and Syria on Saturday and destroyed 29 targets of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) after 12 soldiers were killed in the past two days in northern Iraq, the defense ministry said on Saturday.

The operations were conducted in northern Iraq and Syria at 10 p.m. and the targets hit included bases, shelters, and oil facilities believed to be used by PKK militants, the ministry said.

It did not say which regions of northern Iraq and Syria the air strikes had struck.

Earlier on Saturday, the defense ministry said that 12 Turkish soldiers had been killed in the past two days in clashes with PKK militants in northern Iraq.

The military carried out operations on PKK targets, "neutralizing" at least 16 PKK militants on Saturday in ongoing clashes, the ministry said in a statement.

Turkey typically uses the term "neutralized" to mean killed. The ministry also said seven militants had been killed on Friday.

The PKK, designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, took up arms against the Turkish state in 1984.

Turkey regularly carries out air strikes in neighboring Iraq as part of its offensive against PKK militants based there.