AKIPRESS.COM - The Turkish military said jets hit 17 targets of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) around the Buzul mountain and the Ikiyaka region in Hakkari province, which borders Iran and Iraq, Independent reports.

In further violence, Kurdish rebels attacked an infantry brigade command in nearby Sirnak province, seriously wounding a soldier who later died in hospital.

On Monday, nine people, including five police officers, were killed in separate attacks in Istanbul and in the south-eastern Sirnak province. The attacks were blamed on the PKK.

Turkey has seen a sharp rise in clashes between security forces and Kurdish rebels in recent weeks.

At least 48 people died during the renewed violence that has wrecked an already fragile peace process with the Kurds.