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Two soldiers killed in violence in eastern Turkey

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, July 13, 2007 (AFP) - Two Turkish soldiers died in fresh violence blamed on armed Kurdish rebels in the east of the country, officials said Friday.

One soldier was killed in a clash late Thursday between Turkish troops and Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) rebels in Bingol province, security sources said.

A second soldier was killed, and another wounded, in a land mine explosion late Thursday in the neighbouring Erzincan province, the local governor's office said.

The mine was believed to have been planted by PKK rebels.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist organisation by Ankara and much of the international community, notably stepped up violence this year.

The army has launched a large-scale operation against the group in eastern and southeastern Turkey and massed troops on the border with Iraq, where the militants take refuge.

The PKK took up arms for self-rule in Turkey's mainly Kurdish east and southeast in 1984. The conflict has claimed more than 37,000 lives.