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DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, July 16 (AFP) - 19h50 -
Security forces Saturday defused about five
kilograms (11 pounds) of explosives planted in
howitzer shells on a road in the mainly Kurdish
province of Tunceli in eastern Turkey, security
sources here said.
The explosives, of the powerful C-4 type, were
designed for detonation by remote-control, the
sources said, adding that they had been planted on
the road by suspected Kurdish rebels active in the
region.
The explosives were powerful enough to destroy
armored vehicles, Anatolia news agency reported.
Paramilitary troops discovered the explosives during
a security sweep in Tunceli, where a large military
operation is under way to find a soldier abducted by
Kurdish rebels on Monday night.
The soldier was travelling on a bus that was one of
about 40 vehicles stopped at a roadblock and robbed
by armed militants from the rebel Kurdistan Workers'
Party (PKK), which last year ended a five-year
unilateral ceasefire with Ankara.
Clashes between the army and the PKK in Turkey's
mainly Kurdish eastern and southeastern provinces
have markedly intensified over the past three
months, claiming about 100 lives on both sides.
The conflict has caused about 37,000 deaths since
the PKK took up arms for Kurdish self-rule in the
region in 1984.
At least five people were killed in the seaside
resort of Kusadasi in western Turkey earlier
Saturday when a bomb blast ripped through a minibus
transporting local and foreign holiday-makers.
The blast came just a week after some 20 people were
injured in the nearby resort of Cesme in a bomb
attack claimed by a Kurdish group that the
authorities associate with the PKK.
The rebels had threatened to continue targeting
Turkey's tourism sector, a vital source of revenue
for the economy.
AFP
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