One Turkish soldier was killed and two injured after stepping on landmines laid by guerrillas from the separatist Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK), the Anadolu news agency reported Sunday, according to dpa. All three incidents occurred Saturday in south-east Turkey near the border with Iraq where the Turkish military has launched a large- scale operation to clear the area of PKK rebels. The death and injuries come as the government is coming under increasing pressure from the public and the military to launch a cross-border operation into northern Iraq to wipe out PKK camps where an estimated 3,500 of the rebels are based. The United States and Iraq have both come out strongly against any such operation. More than 32,000 people have been killed since the PKK launched its fight for independence or autonomy for the mainly Kurdish-populated south-east of Turkey.
