Turkey hits 17 Kurdish militant targets in southeastern province

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkey carried out air strikes on 17 Kurdish militant targets in the southeastern province of Hakkari on Monday and Tuesday, Aug 11, the military said, ramping up an offensive against the insurgents, Reuters reports.

Turkey has been buffeted by increased fighting between its military and the outlawed Kurdistan People's Party (PKK), which has waged a three-decade insurgency for greater Kurdish autonomy.

In ground fighting, security sources said the PKK attacked a military station in Sirnak, a province adjacent to Hakkari, and killed one soldier in a 20-minute battle.

One PKK militant was killed in a clash in Bingol province, the local governor's office said.

NATO member Turkey started what it called a "synchronized war on terror" last month, attacking Islamic State insurgents in Syria and PKK militants in northern Iraq.

On Monday at least nine people were killed in a wave of attacks on Turkish security forces, mostly in the southeast.