19 Kurd rebels, 6 soldiers die after Turkish airstrikes

ANKARA  - At least 19 Kurdish rebels and six soldiers were killed overnight in clashes and a bombing raid in southeastern Turkey, the Turkish military said Saturday.

It also reported disarray within the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) after Turkish air strikes on its positions in neighbouring northern Iraq last week, with several leaders allegedly abandoning their mountain hideouts and many militants fleeing their camps.

In the latest episode of violence, the rebels attacked a military outpost in the province of Hakkari, which borders Iraq and Iran, late Friday, killing two soldiers, the army said in a statement posted on its website.

Turkish warplanes bombed the area in response, killing at least 19 militants, it said, adding in a second statement that another four soldiers died in ensuing clashes as the army pursued the rebels on the ground.

The attack on the military outpost was carried out "to change the atmosphere of panic" among PKK ranks that followed Turkish air raids on rebel positions in northern Iraq last week that "dealt the terrorist organisation a serious blow," it said.