Turkish Troops Kill 12 Kurdish Rebels

(RFE/RL) April 12, 2006 -- Twelve Kurdish fighters and two Turkish troops have been killed in a clash in the mountainous Besta-Dereler area of Turkey's southeastern Sirnak province, near the Iraqi border.

Turkish security officials say Kurdish fighters entered Turkey from bases in northern Iraq.


Turkish media reports say troops are still hunting Kurdish guerrillas in the area.


(AFP, AP, Reuters)

Iraq's Kurdish Region

Iraq's Kurdish Region

KURDISH AWAKENING: The ethnic Kurdish region in the northern part of Iraq has struggled in recent years to reestablish its cultural and political identity after decades of oppression under the regime of deposed Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. In December, RFE/RL correspondent Charles Recknagel traveled to this area and filed several reports:

Relative Peace Underscores Issue Of Kurdish Region's Future

Kurdish Culture Begins To Flourish In Kurdistan Region

Kurds Ponder How To Strengthen Autonomy After Elections

Irbil’s Kurds Live On A Hill Of Undiscovered Treasures


THE COMPLETE STORY: RFE/RL's complete coverage of events in Iraq and that country's ongoing transition.