Two policemen, two PKK rebels killed in clashes in southern Turkey

Two Turkish police officers and two rebels of the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) were killed in clashes in southern Turkey early Friday, the private Dogan news agency reported.

A group of PKK militants attacked a police station in the town of Pozanti in Adana province, killing two police officers, said the report, adding that two PKK members were also killed when they entered the garden of the police station.

Two other PKK militants escaped from the scene, according to the report.

Meanwhile, one railway worker was killed and a village guard was injured when a group of PKK militants attacked railway workers near the Sarikamis town in the eastern province of Kars on Thursday, local media Today's Zaman reported.

On Thursday and Wednesday, four Turkish security forces soldiers and one civilian were killed in two separate armed attacks by PKK rebels in the southeastern provinces of Diyarbakir and Sirnak.

After the PKK attacks on Thursday, Turkish jets launched a fresh wave of air strikes on several positions of the PKK in northern Iraq and in southeastern Turkey, local daily Hurriyet reported.

Some 30 F-16 fighters jets hit the PKK hideouts in Zap, Metina and Hafta regions in northern Iraq, while the Turkish army launched operations against the group's positions in Turkey's Sirnak province, a military source said.

The attacks came amidst escalation of tensions in Turkey as the PKK has staged several offenses against Turkish security forces, with the government's military operations targeting the PKK's posts both in Turkey and in Iraq since last week.

The PKK, which has thus far claimed the lives of over 40,000 individuals, is recognized as a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union. Endi