Updated on
Summary Kurdish rebels shot dead three Turkish soldiers in the south eastern province of Mardin.
The deaths come at a time of heightened clashes between Turkeys armed forces and Kurdish rebels in Turkeys southeast.Ten days ago Turkeys chief of staff said grenades thrown by militants ignited a fire in a heavily forested area in Diyarbakir province where clashes were occurring killing 13 soldiers and wounding seven.Seven militants of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) also died in the fighting. The pro-Kurdish Firat news agency disputed the official version with a report that quoted a witness saying a Turkish warplane had targeted the militants in an air strike which also killed the soldiers positioned nearby.The PKK ended its six-month old ceasefire in February and moved to what it calls an active defence stance, whereby its fighters defend themselves if threatened.The jailed leader of the PKK, Abdullah Ocalan, sent word through his lawyers earlier this month that he had agreed with Turkish officials to set up a peace council aimed at ending the 27-year conflict in which 40,000 people have died. Ocalan said the council should be formed within one month, though it was unclear what form it would take.
