( CNN ) -- Turkish troops backed by air support attacked Kurdish rebels Friday in northern Iraq , the Turkish military said . Turkish tanks on the move near the border town of Silopi in Sirnak province , southeastern Turkey . At least 24 suspected Kurd militants were killed , the Turkish military reported , adding it suffered 5 casualties . The incursion against the Kurdistan Workers Party ( PKK ) in Iraq began around 7 p.m. Thursday . In a statement , the Turkish military said it would act with `` utmost sensitivity in order to avoid negative impact on local elements '' -- a reference to keeping civilians out of the conflict . `` The Turkish Armed Forces , which values Iraq 's territorial integrity and its stability , will return as soon as planned goals are achieved , '' the military said . `` The executed operation will prevent the region from being a permanent and safe base for the terrorists and will contribute to Iraq 's stability and internal peace . '' Turkey has been taking cross-border military action , including airstrikes and artillery shelling , against the PKK in retaliation to attacks by the group on targets in Turkey from bases in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq . The PKK has spent two decades fighting for autonomy for Kurds in southeastern Turkey . Turkey has also been carrying out small ground operations into Iraq , forays characterized as `` hot pursuit '' incursions with a few hundred commandos responding to a particular threat . Citing Turkish media reports estimating that as many as 10,000 Turkish troops had been involved , Fadi Hakura , an analyst with UK military thinktank Chatham House , said the operation was the first major incursion by Turkey into Iraq since Hussein was toppled in 2003 . Hakura said the Turkish military wanted to conduct a surprise attack against the PKK prior to the springtime , when violent attacks tend to escalate , and when the snow in the mountainous border region leaves the fighters ' footprints . `` Normally during the 1980s and the 1990s , the incursions involved 35,000 50,000 troops and they tended to be somewhat open-ended over weeks . This one is expected to be limited to a matter of days and targeted attacks against the PKK , '' he said . U.S. officials were downplaying the scope of the operation Friday . Tom Casey , deputy State Department spokesman , said Iraqi Foreign Ministry Hoshyar Zebari called the incursion `` limited in nature '' and not `` major . '' `` The PKK is a common enemy of the U.S. , Turkey and Iraq . We need to work together to resolve it , '' Casey said . `` We are pleased that Turks have stressed that they will do everything possible to avoid acts that would harm civilians . '' Rear Adm. Gregory Smith , a spokesman for the U.S. military in Iraq , told CNN the military is `` aware '' of a Turkish `` operation of limited duration to specifically target PKK terrorists in that region . '' `` Turkey has given its assurances it will do everything possible to avoid collateral damage to innocent civilians or Kurdish infrastructure , '' Smith said . The ground troops ' deployment followed cross-border shelling early Thursday by Turkish soldiers into abandoned villages north of Irbil -- the capital of Iraq 's Kurdish Regional Government . The shelling , which struck abandoned villages in the Khwar-Kork area north of Irbil , lasted two hours and was followed by heavy gunfire , a KRG official told CNN . There were no reports of casualties . Border tensions have been a source of diplomatic disagreement between the U , S . and its Iraqi and Turkish allies . U.S. and Iraqi authorities have been concerned that any large-scale operation by Turkey into Iraq to chase down Kurdish rebels could destabilize the region . At the same time , the U.S. backs Turkey 's efforts to battle the PKK , which both countries regard as a terrorist group and has been providing intelligence to the Turks . `` The United States continues to support Turkey 's right to defend itself from the terrorist activities of the PKK and has encouraged Turkey to use all available means , to include diplomacy and close coordination with the Government of Iraq to ultimately resolve this issue , '' Smith said . E-mail to a friend . CNN 's Paula Hancocks , Zain Verjee and Erin McLaughlin contributed to this report .
Turkish military launches a ground operation in northern Iraq against Kurdish rebels . Operation continues recent Turkish operations against PKK militants operating in Iraq . The PKK has previously launched attacks on targets in Turkey . Spokesman says he is ` ` aware '' of a Turkish operation of limited duration .