Turks kill 25 Kurdish rebels

DIYARBAKIR (AP) - Security forces killed 25 of Turkey's Kurdish guerrillas in an 11-hour clash in a south-eastern province of the country, a local official said yesterday.

The fighting occurred on Thursday near the town of Silvan, in Diyarbakir province, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. One soldier was also killed in the clash, he added. The initial death toll was announced as 12 on Thursday but the official said it went up as the clash continued.

The rebels of the Kurdish Workers' Party have been fighting an eight-year insurgency for self-rule in south-eastern Turkey since 1984. They have launched a new wave of attacks in recent weeks.