5 PKK terrorists killed in eastern Turkey

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ANKARA, Turkey, May 8 (UPI) -- Five members of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers Party were killed in the eastern province of Bitlis Tuesday, government Turkish officials said.

Officials said the five were killed in a confrontation following their refusal to surrender to Turkish security forces, Today's Zaman reported.

The organization has been fighting for autonomy in Turkey's predominantly Kurdish southeast region since 1984. Since August, Turkey has been conducting airstrikes on the group's camps in northern Iraq's mountainous region and inside Turkey after the organization stepped up its attacks on Turkish troops and civilians.

The Kurdistan Workers Party have been declared a terrorist organization by the European Union and the United States.