Four PKK gunmen killed in government raid

(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) ISTANBUL, July 10 (KUNA) -- Four members of the Workers Party of Kurdistan (the PKK) were killed and six government security personnel were wounded in an armed clash between the two sides in the city of Mardin in Southeast Turkey, security sources said on Sunday.

The government forces stormed two positions of the organization after authorities were tipped about presence of "terrorists at the locations," the sources said.

Four of the gunmen were killed and six security personnel were wounded when the forces burst into the hideouts. The injured were whisked to a public hospital in the region.

The PKK, classified as a terrorist organization by Ankara, Washington and other states, has recently stepped up attacks on civilians and security personnel in the southeastern part of Turkey.

Turkey seeks to crush the PKK which advocates establishing an independent Kurdish entity in Southeast Turkey. (end) ta.rk