KURDISH REBELS KILL 26 TURKISH SOLDIERS IN HAKKARI

ARMENPRESS
OCTOBER 19, 2011
YEREVAN

At least 26 Turkish soldiers have been killed in clashes with Kurdish
rebels at police and army posts in south-east Turkey, the government
says.

The attacks, in the mainly Kurdish province of Hakkari, are thought
to have inflicted the biggest loss on Turkish security forces in years.

In response, Turkish troops are reported to have crossed into northern
Iraq where the rebels are based.

President Abdullah Gul has vowed a “great vengeance”.

The attacks come a day after a blast in the south-east Bitlis province
killed five police officers and three others.

President Gul recently visited troops in the region to boost morale in
an area that has recently seen a spike in violence by Kurdish rebels.

Turkey has responded to this with a police crackdown on suspected
rebel sympathisers and air strikes on Kurdish sites in northern Iraq.

Rebels are seeking greater autonomy in the country’s Kurdish-dominated
south-east, and have killed dozens of members of the country’s security
forces, and at least 17 civilians, since mid-July.

Tens of thousands of people have died in the conflict since 1984.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress