ANKARA, Turkey, July 15 (UPI) -- Ankara said Friday it was committed to democracy and the rule of law despite the deaths of 13 soldiers at the hands of Kurdish rebels.
The Turkish military said its soldiers were ambushed by members of the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, in Diyarbakir province. Fighting in the southern province left 13 Turkish soldiers and seven PKK fighters dead.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that despite diplomatic efforts to moderate the PKK positions, reforms and counter-terrorism measures would continue under the rule of law.
"Turkey, without compromising democracy, the law or brotherhood, will tackle terrorism and the forces behind it," he was quoted by Turkish newspaper Today's Zaman as saying.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in a message of condolence said Washington's support for Ankara was unwavering.
"We support Turkey in its fight against terror and we will continue to work with the government of Turkey to combat terrorism in all its forms," she said in a statement.
To the ire of U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, Iranian forces have amassed along the Iraqi border to take on the PKK's counterparts in the Free Life Party of Kurdistan.
