Turkey says eight Kurdish rebels killed in clash in southeast

Security forces in Turkey have killed eight Kurdish rebels in a clash in the country’s southeast, officials said Wednesday.

A brief military statement said the Kurdish rebels opened fire on the security forces in the town of Cizre, drawing response from the troops.

Cizre and the nearby town of Silopi have been under a government-imposed curfew since Monday as government forces battle militants linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, who have moved their fight for Kurdish autonomy to some towns and city neighborhoods.

Turkish security forces stepped up operations targeting Kurdish militants in southeastern towns on Wednesday, security sources said, as pro-government media detailed plans for a 10,000-strong force to restore state control in the region.

The region has been beset by conflict between the police and armed forces and PKK fighters since July, when a ceasefire collapsed and left in tatters a peace process launched three years ago.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu pledged on Tuesday to prevent the PKK 'spreading the fire' from Syria and Iraq to Turkey by imposing control in towns, like the army has done in mountainous areas where the militants are active. 

Residents of Silopi, 20 miles away near the Iraqi border, said explosions rocked the town early on Wednesday and deputies from the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) said security forces had begun raiding houses.

"In Silopi, soldiers and police have started to break down doors and conduct raids on houses," HDP Sirnak deputy Aycan Irmez wrote on Twitter alongside a photo showing dozens of soldiers gathered on a pavement.

"Throughout the night and particularly around 2-3:30 a.m., we heard the noise of intense shelling," one resident who declined to be named told Reuters. "It is impossible for us to go outside and look. Even going out on the balcony is risky," he added. 

Hundreds of people have died since July in renewed fighting between the PKK and Turkish troops. The violence has also derailed a fragile peace process with the rebels.

A pro-Kurdish party says 63 civilians have died since August in operations during curfews.

The PKK launched its insurgency in 1984 and more than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict. Peace talks between its jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan and the state ground to a halt early this year. The PKK is designated as a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and European Union. 

Wire services