Updated on
Summary The Kurdish rebels killed eight Turkish soldiers in three separate attacks on Tuesday.
Up to 100 fighters from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) launched simultaneous dawn attacks on three military observation points in Hakkari province near Turkeys mountainous border with Iraq, killing eight soldiers and wounding 19, the sources said.In subsequent clashes, Turkish troops killed 18 PKK fighters, the prime ministers office said.The attacks come at a time when Turkey is making new efforts to address the grievances of the Kurdish minority to end a conflict that has scarred the region for three decades.We have never regarded terrorism as a matter of negotiation with anybody, and we will never do so. The only thing to do is for terrorists to lay down their arms, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told reporters in Mexico, where he is attending a G20Summit.We will continue our struggle until the end, and sooner or later, we will succeed in our fight against terror, he added. President Abdullah Gul condemned the violence. I curse this treacherous attack, he said in a statement. The terrorist group wants to sabotage the atmosphere of trust and stability and is continuing its inhumane bloody attacks.The head of Turkeys pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), whose members are frequently accused of ties to the rebels, made a striking call for the PKK to halt hostilities.PKK rebels have launched sporadic attacks in recent months near the Syrian border in Hatay province, where thousands of Syrians are housed in refugee camps.One Turkish soldier was killed on Monday night in Hatay in a clash with PKK militants, the governors office there said.
