ANKARA // A Kurdish rebel attack killed 16 soldiers and wounded six others in southeast Turkey, the military announced on Monday.
The attack which took place on Sunday was the deadliest assault on Turkish troops since renewed fighting between the rebels and Turkey’s security forces erupted in July, shattering a fragile peace process.
Rebels of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, on Sunday detonated roadside improvised explosive devices near the village of Daglica, in the mainly-Kurdish Hakkari province which borders Iran and Iraq, targeting soldiers who were travelling in a convoy on a mission to clear the area of mines and explosives.
The attack prompted the military to launch air operations against PKK targets in the area.
Violence in Turkey escalated after a suicide bombing in July, blamed on the ISIL group, killed 33 people near Turkey’s border with Syria, including many Kurds.
Kurdish rebels held the government responsible for the attack, claiming that the government had been too lenient on the extremists, and two policemen were killed in an apparent response.
Turkey’s air force conducted air raids against the ISIL group in Syria following the suicide bombing and then proceeded to strike PKK targets in northern Iraq and in southeast Turkey.
The renewed fighting between the PKK and the security forces has killed about 200 people since July, including around 85 soldiers and police officers. The fighting derailed the 2 1/2-year-old peace process with the Kurds and comes amid increased political uncertainty in Turkey.
The country is holding a new election on November 1, following the ruling party’s failure to form a coalition government after an election in June.
Prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Monday the rebels first fired on the soldiers and later detonated the bombs in the ambush. He said the troops were on a mission to clear the rugged terrain in Daglica of mines and explosives. Daglica, just a few kilometres from the Iraqi border, is a main crossing point for the rebels to launch attacks on Turkey from bases in northern Iraq.
Mr Davutoglu vowed to press ahead with the fight against terror groups.
Turkish security forces have frequently come under attack in Daglica. Separate attacks on military outposts in the mountainous region killed 12 soldiers in 2007 and eight others in 2012.
The military said three F-4 jets and four F-16 were carrying out operations against PKK targets since the attack on Daglica on Sunday. It said six caves, two storage facilities, three shelters and 12 anti-aircraft machine guns were struck during the aerial operation.
The PKK, which has been fighting for Kurdish autonomy in southeast Turkey, is considered a terrorist group by the United States, European Union and Turkey. Tens of thousands of people have died in the conflict since 1984.* Associated Press
