UPDATED ON:
Sunday, July 20, 2008
03:47 Mecca time, 00:47 GMT
 
News Europe
Turkey raid leaves civilians dead
 

Suspected Kurdish fighters have shot dead four civilians and wounded seven others in a village in eastern Turkey, the Anatolia news agency reports.

The attack happened at 1630 GMT on Saturday in a village in the province of Bingol, the report said.

The agency said the attack appeared to have been carried out by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) but that Irfan Balkanlioglu, the provincial governor, did not rule out a clash between feuding families.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist group by Turkey and many of its Western allies, has waged an armed campaign for self-rule in the Kurdish-majority east and southeast since 1984.

The conflict has claimed more than 37,000 lives, but the group's attacks in the past 10 years have usually targeted security forces rather than civilians.

The Turkish army killed four PKK members in Bingol and the southeastern province of Hakkari while two Kurdish fighters and two soldiers were killed the previous night in fighting, security  sources said.

The Turkish military has stepped up action against the PKK since December, conducting air raids and a week-long ground offensive against PKK bases in northern Iraq.

 Source: Agencies
 
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