ANKARA (Reuters) - The Turkish military killed seven Kurdish militants in air strikes in neighboring northern Iraq on Tuesday as they were preparing to launch an attack on regions were Turkish bases are located, it said in a statement on Twitter.

Militant shelters and ammunition stocks were also destroyed in the air strikes, it said.

Turkey has in recent months carried out strikes on bases of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in northern Iraq, especially its stronghold in the Qandil mountains, where Ankara has also threatened to carry out a ground offensive.

More than 40,000 people have been killed since the PKK launched its insurgency in Turkey in 1984. It is designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.