Turk troops repulse rebel attack -security officials

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, Oct 25 (Reuters) Turkish forces deploying tanks and artillery repulsed an attack by up to 40 Kurdish militants on a military post near the Iraqi border, security officials said today.

The attack late yesterday targeted Turkish gendarmes, or paramilitary police, in the mountainous Hakkari province, the officials said.

After heavy clashes, the guerrillas withdrew back into northern Iraq, taking with them an unknown number of dead and wounded, the officials said.

The incident came as Turkey continues a military buildup along the Iraqi border ahead of a possible incursion into northern Iraq to crush rebel camps there.

Early today, witnesses saw F-16 fighter jets taking off from the airport in Diyarbakir, the largest city of Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast region. It was not known where the planes were heading.

Reuters SKB RN1227