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Turkish troops kill six Kurdish rebels, one civilian dies

ANKARA, May 17, 2008 (AFP) - Turkish government forces killed six Kurdish rebels in the country's southeastern region during a failed bid to free a hostage, Anatolia press agency reported Saturday.

The rebels killed the hostage during the raid, said the report.

Militants from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) had kidnapped the civilian from a village bordering Iran in Van province and were hiding out in a cave, the agency said.

The captors killed the hostage as Turkish troops launched an assault to free him, Anatolia said. Three injured rebels managed to escape the attack, but PKK commanders were among those killed in the battle.

Turkey has stepped up military action against the PKK since December, carrying out air strikes plus a week-long ground incursion in February into northern Iraq, where it says more than 2,000 PKK rebels have taken refuge.

The PKK, which is listed as a terrorist group by Turkey and several Western countries, has been fighting for self-rule in Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast since 1984. The conflict has claimed more than 37,000 lives.