Eight Turkish troops die in clashes with Kurdish rebels

19/06/10 13:04 CET

world news

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Eight Turkish soldiers have died and 14 others wounded after they clashed with Kurdish rebels .

Members of the separatist Kurdish Workers Party ,also known as the PKK, ambushed the troops close to the border with neighbouring Iraq.

12 militants were also killed in the fighting.

The attack happened near to the town of Semdinli close to the city of Hakkari.

This morning, Turkey launched a series of airstrikes on reported PKK targets in Northern Iraq, where many of its members are based.

The group, which is classified by the United States and the European Union as a terrorist organisation, wants to create an independent Kurdish homeland inside Turkey.

It launched a violent insurgency to achieve that goal over 25 years ago.

More than 40,000 have died as a result of their campaign.

More about: Clashes and riots, Kurds, Turkey

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