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Turkish militiamen killed in PKK mine attacks: agency

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, May 9, 2008 (AFP) - Three people died and another five were injured Friday as Turkish soldiers and state-armed militias were targeted in two separate mine attacks, Anatolia national news agency reported.

The incidents, in two south-eastern provinces where the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) is active, were blamed on remote-controlled explosions, with local officials telling Anatolia that PKK rebels were behind them.

The first saw a minibus carrying "village guards" blown up at Sason, in Batman province, killing the trio and injuring three.

The second, in Siirt, saw a military convoy hit, injuring a soldier and a village guard, according to a security source.

Remote-controlled mines are a frequent element in the PKK armoury.

Listed as a terrorist group by Turkey and much of the international community, the PKK has been fighting for self-rule in Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast since 1984. The conflict has claimed more than 37,000 lives.

Turkish warplanes have also been bombing PKK positions in northern Iraq on and off since mid-December, following parliamentary authorisation for cross-border military action.

In February, the army conducted a week-long first ground offensive against rebel hideouts in the region, where Ankara estimates more than 2,000 militants take refuge.