12 dead in Kurdish rebel attack on Turkey police minibus

Ankara, Sept 8: At least 12 Turkish policemen were killed today in a bomb attack in eastern Turkey blamed on the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), the official Anatolia news agency said.

The attack targeted a minibus carrying police working in the Igdir region of eastern Turkey at the Dilucu border gate marking the border with Azerbaijan, Anatolia said.

Turkey's security forces launched an operation against Kurdish militants after the attack, it added.

This is the second deadliest attack of the current flare-up in unrest after 16 Turkish soldiers were killed at the weekend in the Kurdish-dominated southeast.

In response to that attack, Turkish warplanes launched a massive air operation early today against PKK targets, killing as many as 40 rebels. The Turkish government vowed to eradicate PKK rebels after the attack.

AFP