Turkey says it will compensate the families of 35 civilians mistakenly killed in an airstrike meant for Kurdish rebels.

The army said it was targeting Kurdish rebels along the country's border with Iraq in last week's airstrikes, but instead hit a group of local smugglers and villagers.

The government has promised to conduct a full investigation into the strikes.

Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc, who announced the compensation Monday, did not specify the amount, but says the payment will be made in the coming days.

The airstrikes set off a series of protests and clashes in Turkey's Kurdish-populated southeastern region.

Clashes between Kurdish rebels and Turkish forces have escalated in recent months. The military launched an operation on militant bases inside Iraq in October after the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, killed 24 soldiers in a border attack.

The PKK campaign for an independent homeland in southeastern Turkey has claimed more than 40,000 lives since it began in 1984.

Turkey, the European Union and the United States regard the PKK as a terrorist group.