Turkish soldiers have killed five rebels of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in a clash in the eastern province of Bingol, security officials said Thursday.
The fighting erupted in a rural part of the province during routine security operations by Turkish forces, a statement from the emergency rule headquarters in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir said.
It did not mention any losses from the Turkish side.
On Saturday, the emergency headquarters had announced that four PKK rebels had been killed in fighting in rural areas in Bingol.
Fighting in the mainly Kurdish-populated southeast and east has eased considerably since September 1999, when the PKK said it was halting its 15-year armed campaign for self-rule and pulling out of Turkish territory.
The truce announcement, which followed peace calls from imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, was brushed aside by the Turkish army as a "ploy".
The conflict has claimed some 36,500 lives, according to official figures -- DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (AFP)
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