Kurdish fighters ‘killed’ in clash

Ankara blames the PKK for the death of more than 40,000 people since 1984 when the group launched its armed struggle for an ethnic homeland in southeast Turkey.

 

Turkey has boosted the number of its soldiers on the Iraqi border to prevent PKK fighters crossing over to attack Turkish military and civilian targets.

 

In recent months the army has also bombed PKK targets several times in northern Iraq in cross-border operations.