3 soldiers,9 Kurdish rebels killed in Turkey clash

In addition to the 12 dead,three soldiers were wounded in the ensuing fighting.

In a separate incident,five other soldiers were wounded late yesterday in a rebel ambush in eastern Turkey,the Anatolia news agency reported.

The PKK has significantly escalated its attacks against Turkish forces in recent months with almost daily attacks reported in eastern and southeastern Turkey.

The PKK,listed as a terrorist group by Ankara and much of the international community,took up arms for Kurdish self-rule in the southeast in 1984,sparking a conflict that has claimed some 45,000 lives.