4 Turkish Troops Wounded in Clashes in Southeast Turkey: Army

Four Turkish troops were wounded today in clashes with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in the southeast of the country, the army said.

The army has sent armed helicopters, reconnaissance jets and a commando unit to the scene in the Agri region in southeastern Turkey where clashes were continuing, it added.

Troops had been dispatched to the district of Diaydin after receiving intelligence of a planned "festival" to promote the "separatist terror organisation", said the army, using the official shorthand for the PKK.

PKK militants opened fire on the Turkish military and the army responded, it said.

"But in the initial fire four of our soldiers were wounded in different places.

"Reconnaissance aircraft, armed helicopters and a commando unit have been dispatched to the area.

"The clashes are continuing," it added.

The unrest marks a rare spike in violence as the government seeks to make peace with the PKK after a decades-long conflict that has cost tens of thousands of lives.

The PKK's jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan this year called on militants to take steps to lay down their arms in what many see as a historic breakthrough in the peace process.

The PKK initially fought for independence for Turkey's Kurds but later softened its demands to seek greater rights and autonomy.