Twenty Turkish soldiers, Kurdish rebels killed in clash

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey,  (Reuters) – Kurdish fighters  killed 13 Turkish soldiers and seven militants died on Thursday  in the worst clash since the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) ended  a ceasefire in February.

Turkey’s chief of staff said in a statement that grenades  thrown by the militants ignited a fire in the heavily forested  area where the clash occurred and 13 soldiers died in the blaze.  It said seven soldiers were wounded.

The pro-Kurdish Firat news agency disputed the official  version with a report that quoted a witness saying a Turkish  warplane had targeted the militants in an air strike which also  killed the soldiers positioned nearby. It gave no death toll.

Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan met the army and intelligence  chiefs as well as the interior minister and head of the  paramilitary gendarmerie in Ankara.