Kurdish rebels have taken control of parts of northern Syria (Photo: AFP – Bulent Kilic)
Kurdish rebels stormed a Turkish army post on the Iraq border Sunday, triggering fighting that killed 20 people in the latest clash since Ankara launched a major offensive against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
Six soldiers, two village guards and 12 Kurdish rebels were killed following the assault on an army post in a village in the southeastern province of Hakkari, the local governor's office said in a statement.
Another 15 soldiers, one village guard and five civilians were wounded, according to the statement cited by the Anatolia news agency.
The rebels from the PKK launched simultaneous assaults on three border posts but the casualties occurred at a post in the village of Gecimli village, the private TV television station reported.
It was the deadliest clash since June when fighting between Turkish soldiers and Kurdish rebels left 28 people dead following a similar attack on an army post in the same region.
Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay said after Sunday's attack that Turkey's fight against "terrorism" would continue.
A series of similar assaults against troops in the Kurdish-dominated southeast prompted the army to launch an all-out offensive against PKK bases in the area last month.
The Turkish ground and air operation, one of the biggest in years, is focused on the town of Semdinli, in Hakkari province, and NTV television said about 2,000 troops are involved.
"A serious and strong operation is under way in Semdinli," Atalay said last week.
The PKK took up arms in the southeast in 1984, after Ankara consistently refused demands for Kurdish self-government.
They are demanding regional autonomy similar to that of the Kurdish regional government in Iraq.
Turkey's latest offensive against the PKK comes as Kurds in northern Syria are reported to have taken control of some regions as fighting escalates in the uprising against the rule of President Bashar al-Assad.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused Damascus of allowing Kurdish rebels a free hand in the north of the country and warned that Ankara could sanction attacks within Syrian territory.
Ankara claims some of the Kurdish rebels in Syria were forced to move there from hideouts in mountainous zones of northern Iraq after the Turkish army carried out several air strikes in the area.
Turkey has massed a convoy of tanks, weapons and ground-to-air missile batteries on the border with Syria and staged military drills after the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the PKK's Syrian ally, claimed control of parts of Syria.
Ties between one-time allies Ankara and Damascus have soured since Assad's regime launched a crackdown on an uprising in March last year.
The Syrian government have accused Turkey of facilitating a foreign-backed insurgency against their rule, with thousands of armed rebels based in southern Turkey and supported by Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
Relations hit an all-time low after a Turkish fighter jet was brought down by Syrian fire in June, killing its two pilots and leading Ankara to brand Damascus a "hostile" opponent.
Last week, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu visited northern Iraq for talks with Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani about the situation in northern Syria.
"The new Syria should be free of any terrorist and extremist group or organization," the two said in a rare joint statement.
Although Turkey has built ties with the Kurdish regional government in the north of Iraq, Ankara is opposed to the idea of a separate Kurdish state.
(Al-Akhbar, AFP)
Six soldiers, two village guards and 12 Kurdish rebels were killed following the assault on an army post in a village in the southeastern province of Hakkari, the local governor's office said in a statement.
Another 15 soldiers, one village guard and five civilians were wounded, according to the statement cited by the Anatolia news agency.
The rebels from the PKK launched simultaneous assaults on three border posts but the casualties occurred at a post in the village of Gecimli village, the private TV television station reported.
It was the deadliest clash since June when fighting between Turkish soldiers and Kurdish rebels left 28 people dead following a similar attack on an army post in the same region.
Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay said after Sunday's attack that Turkey's fight against "terrorism" would continue.
A series of similar assaults against troops in the Kurdish-dominated southeast prompted the army to launch an all-out offensive against PKK bases in the area last month.
The Turkish ground and air operation, one of the biggest in years, is focused on the town of Semdinli, in Hakkari province, and NTV television said about 2,000 troops are involved.
"A serious and strong operation is under way in Semdinli," Atalay said last week.
The PKK took up arms in the southeast in 1984, after Ankara consistently refused demands for Kurdish self-government.
They are demanding regional autonomy similar to that of the Kurdish regional government in Iraq.
Turkey's latest offensive against the PKK comes as Kurds in northern Syria are reported to have taken control of some regions as fighting escalates in the uprising against the rule of President Bashar al-Assad.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused Damascus of allowing Kurdish rebels a free hand in the north of the country and warned that Ankara could sanction attacks within Syrian territory.
Ankara claims some of the Kurdish rebels in Syria were forced to move there from hideouts in mountainous zones of northern Iraq after the Turkish army carried out several air strikes in the area.
Turkey has massed a convoy of tanks, weapons and ground-to-air missile batteries on the border with Syria and staged military drills after the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the PKK's Syrian ally, claimed control of parts of Syria.
Ties between one-time allies Ankara and Damascus have soured since Assad's regime launched a crackdown on an uprising in March last year.
The Syrian government have accused Turkey of facilitating a foreign-backed insurgency against their rule, with thousands of armed rebels based in southern Turkey and supported by Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
Relations hit an all-time low after a Turkish fighter jet was brought down by Syrian fire in June, killing its two pilots and leading Ankara to brand Damascus a "hostile" opponent.
Last week, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu visited northern Iraq for talks with Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani about the situation in northern Syria.
"The new Syria should be free of any terrorist and extremist group or organization," the two said in a rare joint statement.
Although Turkey has built ties with the Kurdish regional government in the north of Iraq, Ankara is opposed to the idea of a separate Kurdish state.
(Al-Akhbar, AFP)
Uprooted Palestinian 
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