Fighting kills 15 Turkish soldiers, 23 PKK members

05/10/2008

ANKARA, Turkey -- Clashes in southeastern Turkey killed 15 Turkish soldiers and 23 terrorists from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) on Friday (October 3rd), the Turkish General Staff said on its website. An estimated 350 PKK militants attacked a gendarmerie station in the southeastern province of Hakkari after crossing the border from northern Iraq. The Counterterrorism Higher Board held an emergency meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Turkey urged Iraqi authorities and other related parties to punish the perpetrators. Iraq, the EU, NATO and the United States also condemned the PKK attack. (Anadolu news agency, Hurriyet, CNN Turk, NTV, Dogan news agency, AFP, Reuters, AP - 04/10/08)