Roadside bomb kills eight soldiers in Turkey

A roadside bomb exploded in eastern Turkey today, killing eight soldiers and wounding three, an official said.

There was no claim of responsibility, but the blast occurred in an area where Kurdish rebels are fighting Turkish soldiers and often use roadside bombs in their attacks.

Govenor Ali Gungor said the bomb went off on a road near the town of Kemah, in Erzincan province, as a military vehicle was passing by.

The Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, has been fighting for self-rule in south-east Turkey since 1984. The fighting has killed tens of thousands of people.

In recent months, Turkish warplanes have repeatedly attacked suspected rebel positions in northern Iraq, and carried out a weeklong ground offensive there in February. The rebels use bases in northern Iraq as a springboard for attacks in Turkey.