ISTANBUL, DIYARBAKIR, Turkey: Turkey bombed bases of the separatist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in northern Iraq Wednesday, a PKK spokesman said, hours after the rebel group claimed an ambush that killed at least eight Turkish soldiers.

“Turkish jets targeted our bases in different areas inside Iraq,” Dozdar Hammo told AFP.

He said the bombing began about 9:30 p.m. (1830 GMT) and targeted bases in areas near the Turkish border including Qandil, Khanairah, Al-Zab and Jabal Mattine.

“Until now, there is no information on casualties,” he added.

The spokesman had earlier in the day said that the PKK had carried out an ambush on Turkish troops in southeastern Turkey, in which Ankara said eight soldiers and a village guard were killed.Eleven soldiers were also wounded when a series of blasts hit their convoy in Hakkari province, the latest in a string of attacks by the Kurdish guerrillas on the military.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan condemned the killings, saying those who carried out such attacks would “pay the price.”

“Our patience has finally run out. Those who do not distance themselves from terrorism will pay the price,” Erdogan told reporters on the sidelines of a conference in Istanbul.

President Abdullah Gul also denounced the attacks and said the cost of carrying out such raids against the Turkish state would be “very big,” state-run Anatolian news agency said.

Recent Turkish media reports have said Erdogan planned to launch a new offensive against the PKK in southeastern Turkey after the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan ends.

Several hours after the initial attack, another blast in the same area killed a member of the state-backed village guard militia, security sources said. Officials were searching the area for further explosive devices, they said.

More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict since the PKK took up arms for Kurdish self-rule in 1984.

Last month, the PKK’s jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan sent word through his lawyers that he had agreed with Turkish officials to set up a “peace council” aimed at ending the conflict.

Ocalan said the council should be formed within one month, although it was unclear what form it would take.

The proposal came a month after Erdogan’s AK Party won an election for a third term in power and two months after Ocalan threatened war unless the government entered talks.

But Wednesday Erdogan told reporters at the news conference the government was “finished with talking.”

“From now on there is nothing to talk about. We will see what happens,” he said.