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U.S. condemns PKK attacks on Turkish soldiers

15 July 2011 [11:36] - TODAY.AZ
The U.S. on Thursday condemned "in the strongest terms" the attacks by the outlawed Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK) that killed 13 Turkish soldiers, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said, Xinhua reported.

Toner told reporters that the U.S. expressed its condolences to the families of the victims, adding that the U.S. stands "in solidarity with Turkey."

He said the U.S. strongly supports Turkey in its fight against terror, and will continue to work with the government of Turkey to combat terrorism in all its forms.

Earlier on Thursday, the PKK members killed 13 soldiers in an ambush in a remote area in Silvan town of Diyarbakir province. Seven other soldiers were wounded and seven PKK militants were killed in the clash.

Following the attacks, Turkish President Abdullah Gul said that PKK’s attacks would never be able to pull down Turkey and its people, adding Turkey would continue to fight terrorism with determination.

Listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union, the banned PKK took up arms in 1984 to create an ethnic homeland in southeastern Turkey. Some 40,000 people have been killed in conflicts involving the PKK for the past over two decades.


/APA/
URL: http://www.today.az/news/regions/90463.html

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