ANKARA -- Kurdish guerillas kidnapped 15 German tourists, four of them children, who were camping near a mountain in eastern Turkey, state radio reported Saturday.
The rebels later released five of the hostages, the report said.
The tourists arrived Thursday night in Bitlis province, 400 miles east of Ankara, and camped at the foot of Mount Nemrut in preparation for a climb, the Anatolian News Agency said.
Towards midnight an unknown number of guerillas, who claimed to be acting for the Kurdish cause, surrounded the tourists and took them away in a small truck, one of those released reportedly told police.
A statement by the Interior Ministry said a large scale search using helicopters was launched for the remaining 10 hostages.
The statement also said there had been some arrests but did not say how many. The camping area was closed by authorities.
Separtist guerillas affiliated with the Kurdish Workers' Party, a Marxist-Leninist group known by its Kurdish initials of PKK, have been active in southeastern and eastern Turkey since 1984 in efforts to set up an independent state.
The PKK has often clashed with Turkish troops in the area, attacking remote villages and killing or kidnapping local people and soldiers. This is the first time the PKK has taken foreign hostages.
