Istanbul , Turkey ( CNN ) -- Turkish warplanes bombed suspected Kurdish rebel targets in northern Iraq 's rugged mountains for a second consecutive night Thursday after an ambush on a southeastern Turkey highway killed eight soldiers and a government-employed guard , the semi-official Anatolian News Agency reported . In the second operation , F-16s took off Thursday night from Diyarbakir and bombed targets in northern Iraq , returning three hours later , the agency said , citing ministry sources . Earlier Thursday , the military had said in a statement that Turkish artillery pounded more than 100 targets in the border region . `` Similar activities of the Turkish Armed Forces , both domestic and abroad , will continue with determination until the separatist terrorist organization that uses northern Iraq as a safe haven and an attack base against Turkey is eliminated , '' the military said . The Kurdish Firat News agency , which is sympathetic to the Kurdistan Workers Party , or PKK , confirmed Wednesday night 's air and artillery attacks in the rugged mountains of northern Iraq , where the rebels have long operated . Firat quoted an unnamed rebel commander saying that the air raid was expected . `` It was n't a surprise for us . We had measures . Air raids happen almost every year . We are a 30-year guerrilla movement . Therefore , they did n't achieve any results from yesterday 's attack , '' the rebel commander said . Turkish war planes were once again spotted flying over the Qandil mountains of northern Iraq on Thursday , Firat reported . Ankara said fighters from the PKK carried out Wednesday 's deadly ambush . Thursday , military helicopters carried the flag-draped coffins of the eight soldiers to a funeral ceremony in the eastern border city of Van . `` Our pain is very big . Our sorrow is like the mountains , '' Brig . Gen. Levent Kose , a senior Turkish military commander , announced at the ceremony . He then issued a bellicose warning to the PKK . `` They wo n't win , they wo n't achieve anything . They will melt in their own darkness . They will dry in their own quicksand . They will choke on their own blood . '' Meanwhile , Turkey 's president , prime minister and top military commanders gathered for a meeting of the country 's national security council in Ankara Thursday . The officials were expected to discuss policy challenges , including the conflict with the PKK and official Turkish frustration with another neighbor , Syria , where the regime has violently cracked down on anti-government protesters . The latest round of fighting with the PKK could present a major test for the Turkish armed forces . Long one of the most powerful political institutions in Turkey , the military has been shaken after scores of generals and admirals were arrested and put on trial for allegedly plotting to overthrow Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan 's government . In an unprecedented move last month , the country 's four most senior military commanders all resigned simultaneously . Kurdish fighters have been locked in a bloody conflict with the government since the 1980s . More than 30,000 people have been killed in the fighting , many of them ethnic Kurds . The Kurds are Turkey 's largest ethnic minority . For decades , Ankara imposed oppressive policies , which banned Kurdish names and their language , and sometimes referred to the community as `` mountain Turks . '' Erdogan 's government has attempted to improve relations with Turkey 's Kurds in recent years by launching a Kurdish channel on state television and acknowledging `` mistakes were made '' in the way Ankara treated the minorities . But tensions have escalated between the government and the main Kurdish nationalist political party in recent months . After winning a larger number of seats in June parliamentary elections , the main Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party ( BDP ) boycotted the swearing-in ceremony for new lawmakers . Kurdish lawmakers are protesting a decision by Turkey 's electoral board , which disqualified a prominent Kurdish candidate from participating in the June election . Politician Hatip Dicle was barred from running due to a 20-month prison sentence he received for `` making propaganda for a terrorist organization , '' a Turkish reference to the PKK . Meanwhile , PKK fighters have claimed responsibility for a series of deadly attacks , including a Saturday ambush near the southeastern province of Sirnak that killed at least three soldiers . In a statement e-mailed to CNN , the PKK also claimed responsibility for last week 's sabotage of a natural gas pipeline between Turkey and its eastern neighbor , Iran . The rebel strikes , as well as a battle last month that left at least 13 Turkish soldiers dead , have raised fears of an escalation in the long-simmering war between the Turkish state and Kurdish separatists .
NEW : F-16s strike suspected PKK camps for second consecutive night . Turkish government holds national security council meeting . The ambush killed at least eight soldiers and a government-employed guard . Military : Turkish artillery also pounds more than 100 targets in the border region .