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Two soldiers killed in eastern Turkey

Türkiye Materials 13 July 2007 13:24 (UTC +04:00)

( Reuters ) - Two Turkish troops were killed in combat with separatist Kurdish rebels and a mine blast in eastern Turkey, army sources said on Friday.

One soldier was killed in clash between illegal Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) guerrillas and Turkish troops in Bingol province in eastern Turkey, the sources said.

Another soldier was killed and one was wounded in Erzincan in a mine blast, the governor of the province said.

The PKK launched an armed separatist struggle against the Turkish state in 1984. More than 30,000 people have been killed since then.

The conflict has escalated in the last couple of years, and the army has urged the government to allow an incursion into northern Iraq to quash PKK militants who use that region as a base to attack security and civilian targets inside Turkey.

Turkish military casualties from operations against the PKK have also become a major issue ahead of a parliamentary election on July 22.

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