Eyewitnesses say three Turkish military helicopters have entered northern Iraq and the PUK say Turkish artillery has shelled Kurdish regions.

According to the NetKurd website, local residents said the helicopters entered Iraqi Kurdish areas through the Goli region and landed near the village of Sili.

Separately, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, the party of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, reported the Turkish army's artillery shelled several targets in Iraqi Kurdistan for 5 hours.

The moves come amid a major Turkish build-up of troops and tanks on the border with northern Iraq where Ankara says the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants have bases.

The Turkish army's general staff has vowed to fight the separatists, calling on all Turks to work together "to resist in the face of these terrorist actions" which threaten national unity.

Attacks by the banned PKK, which has been fighting for an ethnic homeland since 1984, have increased in recent weeks.

RH/MR/IS