Turkish troops, backed by helicopter gunships, killed five Kurdish rebels in an overnight clash in southeastern Turkey, and a taxi driver was seriously injured when he drove over a land mine believed placed by Kurdish rebels, AP reported. In a separate incident Friday, Turkish security forces killed three other rebels after they refused to surrender and lay down their weapons, the Anatolia news agency said. The clashes with the rebels took place near the cities of Sirnak and Bingol, and the mine incident in nearby Tunceli.
