Istanbul ( CNN ) -- A Turkish airstrike on the border with Iraq killed 35 people who are now thought to have been smuggling cigarettes , a senior Turkish lawmaker said Thursday . Turkish air force jets launched the strike late Wednesday after unmanned aerial vehicles showed a group moving from Iraq toward the border with Turkey in an area `` mostly used by terrorists , '' a statement from the military general staff said . But a senior member of Turkey 's governing Justice and Development Party ( AKP ) said early indications are that those identified by the drones and subsequently killed were civilians . `` These people were thought to be terrorists ; however , the first initial investigative information we have from the local authorities , especially from Sirnak Governor 's office , indicate that these people are involved in cigarette smuggling , '' said the AKP 's deputy chairman and spokesman Huseyin Celik . He said the strike had killed many members of the same family . `` Even if there was a situation 100 % that these people were smugglers , these people should not have been subjected to this , they should not have been bombed . It is out of question , '' he said . Expressing his condolences to the affected families , he vowed that a full investigation would be carried out and no cover-up would be allowed . A local official in Turkey 's southeastern province of Sirnak earlier said the airstrike had killed at least 31 Kurdish villagers . `` A group of villagers were coming from northern Iraq across the border after 9:30 p.m. Their path was blocked by soldiers and then four planes bombed them , '' said the official , Yunus Urek of the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party . The incident occurred in a region where there is a large Kurdish population . The people were from the border villages of Ortasu and Gulyazi , according to Urek , who said he was in Ortasu . Urek said the victims frequently cross the border `` for their daily needs like sugar or fuel . '' He said one person survived the strike . Turkish authorities said an administrative and legal investigation was under way . `` Since the area where the group was located was often used by terrorists and a movement towards our border was determined , it was evaluated that the area should be held under fire by air force planes , '' the Turkish military said in a statement released Thursday . The military statement claimed the the strike was in the Sinat-Haftanin area of northern Iraq , where many militant training camps are situated and there are no civilian settlements . Vahdettin Ozkan , the governor of Turkey 's southeastern province of Sirnak , also said a full investigation is under way . `` A crisis center has been set up at the governor 's office , and prosecutors and security forces have been sent to the region , '' he told Turkey 's Anadolu news agency . Some observers have sounded the alarm in recent months about escalating tension between Turkey and its Kurdish minority , warning it may reignite a conflict that has simmered since 1984 and claimed more than 30,000 lives . Turkey has been going on the offensive against Kurdish separatists based across its border in northern Iraq with bombings and incursions . In October , an attack killed 24 Turkish soldiers in the southeastern section of the country , where Turkey borders Iraq . The Turkish government blamed terrorists for that attack , and the United States pinned responsibility for the attack on militants from a Kurdish separatist group , the Kurdistan Workers Party , or PKK . Earlier this month , Turkish police detained dozens of people in a wave of raids focused on pro-Kurdish media organizations . The Kurds represent the largest ethnic minority in Turkey . For decades , they were the target of repressive government policies , implemented by officials who sometimes referred to them as `` mountain Turks . '' CNN 's Yesim Comert and Talia Kayali contributed to this report .
35 people are reported killed by Turkish jets in an attack on the border with Iraq . Those killed are thought to have been smuggling cigarettes , a senior politician says . The Turkish government says the route the group was using is one often used by terrorists . The Kurds represent the largest ethnic group in Turkey .