Gunmen attacked on Tuesday a Turkish military position in northern Iraq, said a witness and the rebel Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). A number of Turkish soldier were killed in the assault that took place at the Guerbya base near the city of Zakho close to the Turkish border, the witness said. "We have reports of an attack by unknown assailants on the Turkish military position at Guerbya at around 8:30 am (0530 GMT)," PKK spokesman Haval Dmaha said. He said he had "no idea about the identity of the assailants". No one has claimed responsibility for the attack. There was no immediate word from the Turkish authorities. The PKK said a number of Turkish soldiers were killed in the attack, but there was no independent confirmation of any deaths. It was the first reported attack on a Turkish base in Iraqi Kurdistan and came as Turkish troops were in the fourth week of a deadly incursion in the Syrian Kurdish enclave of Afrin. Guerbya is one of 18 bases in Iraqi Kurdistan that Turkey has maintained since the 1990s despite repeated calls by the regions parliament for them to be removed. The PKK, which has been waging a deadly insurgency in southeastern Turkey since 1984, also has a significant presence in the region.