ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish warplanes struck Kurdish militant targets in two areas of southeast Turkey overnight, killing 11 Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fighters, the army said on Tuesday.

One air operation was conducted near the Syrian border, in the Dargecit district of Mardin province, where warplanes destroyed two gun positions and killed eight militants believed to be preparing for an attack, the army said in a statement.

It said three other PKK members were killed and a cave destroyed in air strikes in the countryside of Hakkari province, which borders Iraq and Iran.

The PKK took up arms against the Turkish state in 1984 and more than 40,000 people, mostly Kurds, have been killed in the conflict. It is designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

A ceasefire between the Turkish state and the militants broke down in July 2015 and the southeast subsequently saw some of the worst violence since the insurgency began. </s> ANKARA, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Turkish jets killed three Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants in southeastern Turkey near the border with Iraq in air strikes on Thursday, the military said.

The strikes near the town of Cukurca in a mountainous part of the border province of Hakkari come after a series of attacks launched by the PKK, which has fought a three-decade insurgency for Kurdish autonomy in southeastern Turkey. A ceasefire broke down just over a year ago. (Reporting by Ece Toksabay; Editing by Nick Tattersall) </s> Turkish air strikes kill 3 PKK militants in southeast Turkey - military

ANKARA, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Turkish jets killed three Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants in southeastern Turkey near the border with Iraq in air strikes on Thursday, the military said. </s> Turkish air strikes kill 19 Kurdish militants in north Iraq - military sources

DIYARBAKIR, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Turkish jets carried out air strikes against Kurdish militants in the Gara region of northern Iraq on Friday and killed 19 militants, Turkish military sources said on Saturday.

The warplanes took off from an air base in Diyarbakir in response to threats that the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants were preparing an attack on military units at the border, the sources said.

Turkey frequently launches air attacks against PKK targets in the mountainous regions of northern Iraq near the Turkish border, where the Kurdish militant group's leadership has camps.

A ceasefire between the autonomy-seeking PKK and the state fell apart last year, triggering some of the worst violence in the three decades of the Kurdish insurgency. </s> ANKARA (dpa-AFX) - The Turkish air force has killed 19 Kurdistan Workers' Party fighters in the Gara area of northern Iraq, the state run Anadolu news agency reported Saturday.



In a statement, the Turkish General Staff said that the Turkish jets eliminated 19 terrorists in a security operation, while destructing five shelters of them and a logistics center.



More than 70 PKK and Daesh terrorists have been killed in Turkish air strikes across eastern and southeastern Turkey and northern Syria over the past week, the military said in a separate statement. The military had also dismantled 50 shelters of the PPK fighters during the operations.



Meanwhile, the PKK fighters detonated a vehicle bomb before a gendarmerie station in southeastern Diyarbakir province early in the day, but no causalities have been reported.



An operation is being carried out by the authorities to find the offenders.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX </s> ISTANBUL — Turkey’s state-run news agency says eight soldiers have been killed and five wounded after Kurdish militants detonated a car bomb outside a military station in the southeastern town of Semdinli.

Citing a statement by the Turkish Armed Forces, the Anadolu Agency says the attack Sunday outside the Gendarmerie station was the work of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK.

Turkey has been rocked by a wave of bomb attacks since last summer that have killed hundreds of people and been blamed on either the PKK or the Islamic State group.

Fighting between the PKK and the state security forces resumed last year after the collapse of a fragile 2 ½-year cease-fire. Since then, more than 600 Turkish security personnel and thousands of PKK militants have been killed, according to Anadolu. </s> ISTANBUL -- Kurdish militants detonated a car bomb Sunday outside a military checkpoint in southeast Turkey, killing nine soldiers and wounding eleven others, Turkey's state-run news agency said. Turkey launched a military operation in response to the attack.

The Anadolu Agency, citing a statement by the Turkish Armed Forces, said the attack occurred at 9:45 a.m. outside a Gendarmerie checkpoint on the Semdinli-Yuksekova highway and was the work of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK.

The explosion produced a crater 50 feet wide and 23 feet deep. An infantry station located behind the checkpoint also suffered heavy damage.

Turkish authorities imposed a temporary blackout on coverage of the attack, citing public order and national security reasons.

 Energy Minister Berat Albayrak condemned the attack during a speech in Istanbul, calling on all countries to stand together against terrorism.

Turkey has been rocked by a wave of bomb attacks since last summer that have killed hundreds of people and been blamed on either the PKK or the Islamic State group.

Fighting between the PKK and the state security forces resumed last year after the collapse of a fragile 2-year cease-fire. Since then, more than 600 Turkish security personnel and thousands of PKK militants have been killed in clashes, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency. Rights groups say hundreds of civilians have also been killed in the fighting.

On Thursday, 10 people were slightly wounded by a bomb mounted on a motorcycle that exploded near a police station in Istanbul. On Friday, the militant Kurdistan Freedom Falcons, or TAK, considered an offshoot of the PKK, claimed responsibility.

Six people have been detained in connection with that attack. </s> ISTANBUL -- Kurdish militants detonated a car bomb Sunday outside a military checkpoint in southeast Turkey, killing nine soldiers and eight civilians, the local governor said.

Cuneyit Orhan Toprak, governor of Hakkari province where the attack took place, gave the death toll to the private news channel NTV and said 27 other people were wounded in the attack and were rushed to nearby hospitals for treatment.

Eleven of the wounded were soldiers, the Turkish military said.

Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency, citing a statement by the Turkish Armed Forces, said the attack occurred at 9:45 a.m. outside a Gendarmerie checkpoint on the Semdinli-Yuksekova highway and was the work of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK. The checkpoint is 12 miles from the center of the town of Semdinli.

Toprak said the attackers first opened fire on the soldiers at the checkpoint to distract them, before driving up a minivan containing about 5 tons of explosives and detonating it.

The Anadolu Agency, citing a statement by the Turkish Armed Forces, said the attack occurred at 9:45 a.m. outside a Gendarmerie checkpoint on the Semdinli-Yuksekova highway and was the work of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK.

The explosion produced a crater 50 feet wide and 23 feet deep. An infantry station located behind the checkpoint also suffered heavy damage.

Turkish authorities imposed a temporary blackout on coverage of the attack, citing public order and national security reasons.

Energy Minister Berat Albayrak condemned the attack during a speech in Istanbul, calling on all countries to stand together against terrorism.

Turkey has been rocked by a wave of bomb attacks since last summer that have killed hundreds of people and been blamed on either the PKK or the Islamic State group.

Fighting between the PKK and the state security forces resumed last year after the collapse of a fragile 2-year cease-fire. Since then, more than 600 Turkish security personnel and thousands of PKK militants have been killed in clashes, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency. Rights groups say hundreds of civilians have also been killed in the fighting.

On Thursday, 10 people were slightly wounded by a bomb mounted on a motorcycle that exploded near a police station in Istanbul. On Friday, the militant Kurdistan Freedom Falcons, or TAK, considered an offshoot of the PKK, claimed responsibility.

Six people have been detained in connection with that attack. </s> ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Four Turkish soldiers and 20 armed assailants were killed on Friday in clashes between the military and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) near the border with Iraq, Turkey’s defense ministry and military said.

A military base was attacked overnight in the mountainous Cukurca district of Turkey’s southeastern province of Hakkari, prompting the military to respond with an air operation, news agencies and the ministry said on Saturday.

The Turkish military said “at least 20 terrorists were neutralized” as a result, and it held a ceremony for the dead soldiers on Saturday, according to state-run Anadolu news agency. Hulusi Akar, the defense minister, was to attend.

The ministry said six other soldiers were wounded in the clashes. “Terrorists are under intense fire with the air operation and fire support vehicles in the region,” it said.

The PKK, which has waged an insurgency for autonomy in Turkey’s largely Kurdish southeast since 1984, is deemed a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

“Turkey is determined to continue its fight against terrorists and their supporters by making no compromises,” Mustafa Sentop, the speaker of Turkey’s parliament, was quoted as saying by Anadolu.
According to the Turkish Army, its overnight air strike in Dargeçit killed eleven militants from the Kurdistan Workers' Party.