01/04/2011 15:19
Turkey kills 7 Kurd fighters crossing border from Syria
Turkish security forces killed seven Kurdish militants early Friday after a large group of PKK fighters crossed over the border from Syria, Turkish military officials said, according to Reuters.
It was the largest number killed in a fire fight with the PKK, the Kurdistan Workers Party, since last summer.
Military operations were continuing in the area near the site of the clash by the town of Hassa in Hatay province, said the military officials, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The PKK took up arms in 1984 in a bid to carve out an ethnic homeland in southeastern Turkey, but has scaled back demands to greater political autonomy and cultural rights for Turkey's estimated 15 million Kurds.