Kurdish rebels killed

Thirty two Kurdish rebels have been killed in a Turkish military offensive in south-eastern Turkey, according to state-run television.

TRT television said the rebels were killed in clashes in the Kazan Valley region of Hakkari province that borders Iraq. Turkey launched anti-rebel offensives – involving some 10,000 troops – both in south-eastern Turkey and across the border in Iraq on Wednesday, after 24 soldiers were killed by the rebels in the deadliest one-day toll against the military since the 1990s.

Newspaper reports said up to 2,000 troops are taking part in a cross-border ground operation against autonomy-seeking Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq.