Turkish soldiers killed in blast

At least eight Turkish soldiers have been killed in an explosion in the east of the country, Turkish media report.

The private Dogan news agency said a roadside bomb went off as a military vehicle was passing by the town of Kemah in Erzincan province.

Four soldiers were also injured in the blast, reports said.

Fighting between Turkish soldiers and PKK rebels in eastern and south-eastern Turkey and northern Iraq has escalated in recent months.

Provincial governor Ali Gungor told the state-run Anatolia news agency that the injured soldiers were being treated in various hospitals.

No-one has yet claimed responsibility but the blast occurred in an area which has often been the scene of conflict between the PKK (Kurdish Workers Party) and government forces.

Last month, Turkish jets attacked a PKK base in northern Iraq, killing an unknown number of fighters.

The air strike came shortly after the government blamed the PKK, which wants an independent Kurdish state in south-east Turkey, for a twin bombing in Istanbul which left 17 dead.