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13 Turkish soldiers killed in Kurdish rebel attack |
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Written by Agencies
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Sunday, 07 October 2007 17:13 |
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Thirteen Turkish soldiers were killed Sunday in an attack by Kurdish rebels from the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in the southeast of the country. Turkish troops responded by shelling an area near the Iraqi border to try to stop the rebels from escaping across the border, the military said.
The fighting took place in Sirnak province, bordering Iraq. The regional government in Sirak reported earlier Sunday that a PKK rebel had been killed while fighting the army in the Mount Cudi area. On Saturday, the army announced that it has created 27 new temporary security zones, reinforcing the already existing plan to deter rebel movement in the Sirnak, Siirt and Hakkari provinces, all close to the border with Iraq. Ankara estimates that there are thousands of PKK rebels who are supported or tolerated by Iraqi Kurds.
Twelve people were killed at the end of September after a minibus was machine-gunned in Sirnak province, the PKK's bloodiest attack in Turkey in recent years. The PKK, listed as a terrorist group by Turkey and much of the international community, has waged a bloody campaign for self-rule in Turkey's mainly Kurdish east and southeast since 1984. The conflict has claimed more than 37,000 lives.
Abdul-Rahman al-Chadarchi, a spokesman for the Kurdish rebel group, confirmed the attack and said the rebel fighters sustained no casualties.
The clash "boosted our determination and strength" to fight terrorism, the military said.
In an earlier clash, Turkish troops killed a rebel fighter on Friday in a mountainous area of Sirnak, the provincial governor's office said. Three soldiers were injured.
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