Turkish troops kill 7 Kurdish rebels in clash
Thu, 28 Apr 2011 11:58 GMT
TUNCELI, Turkey, April 28 (Reuters) - Turkish security forces killed seven Kurdish guerrillas in an army operation in eastern Turkey, military sources told Reuters on Thursday.
At least 1,000 soldiers, backed by helicopters, attacked a large group of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants in a mountainous area on the borders of Tunceli and Bingol provinces late on Wednesday, the sources said.
Operations against the guerrillas were continuing on Thursday, they added.
The PKK ended a six-month ceasefire in February and there have been fears of an increase in violence ahead of Turkey's parliamentary election on June 12.
Three militants were killed earlier this month further west in Kahramanmaras.
Warmer spring weather generally brings an increase in violence in the mountainous southeast, scene of a separatist conflict that has killed more than 40,000 people since the PKK took up arms against the state in 1984.
Tension mounted in the mainly Kurdish region this month after an election board decision, later reversed, to bar a number of Kurdish candidates from standing in the poll. (Reporting by Ferit Demir, writing by Daren Butler, editing by Andrew Heavens)
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