Turkish warplanes pound Kurdish militant targets in southeast Turkey

ANKARA: Turkish warplanes struck Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant targets on Saturday, part of an air and ground offensive against the group in southeast Turkey, where some areas have been under curfew for as long as ten days.

The Turkish army said it hit PKK shelters and supply points in the mountainous Semdinli district of Hakkari province, north of Turkey's borders with Iraq and Iran.

A round-the-clock curfew in Mardin's Nusaybin district entered its tenth day on Sunday, during which ten PKK militants and two civilians had been killed, according to a statement by local governor's office.

Seven districts of Diyarbakir had a three-day curfew lifted on Sunday morning, though the restrictions stayed in place in other parts of the city.

The PKK's 31-year-old conflict with the state erupted anew in July, with Turkey launching air strikes on militant camps in response to attacks on its security forces, ending a March 2013 ceasefire. Hundreds have been killed in the latest fighting.

The PKK wants autonomy for Turkey's large Kurdish minority.

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Designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and European Union, the PKK launched a separatist insurgency in 1984 in which more than 40,000 people have been killed. The state launched peace talks with its jailed leader in 2012.