42 Kurd rebels killed in Turkey unrest: sources

DIYARBAKIR: Forty-two Kurd rebels and a Turkish soldier have been killed over three days of combat in a town in Turkey's Kurdish-dominated southeast, local security sources said Friday. The clashes took place near the town of Semdinli, which lies close to the border with both Iraq and Iran and has seen a surge in fighting between the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and Turkey's army since July, the sources said. On Thursday, a soldier was killed in clashes that erupted between Turkish security forces and members of the PKK in Semdinli. The Turkish army responded with air strikes on PKK members in the town, killing 13 rebels, the sources said. The fighting came after a car bomb targeting a police vehicle exploded in the town on Sunday, killing an 11-year old child and wounding 18 other people in an attack blamed on Kurdish rebels. The PKK is labelled as a terrorist organisation by Turkey and much of the international community.