Turkish troops have killed 13 Kurdish rebels during clashes that erupted Tuesday in a mountainous area in southern Turkey near Syria, the local governor's office said Wednesday. Backed by air power, the Turkish army launched an offensive against militants of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in the Amanos mountains and clashes were continuing on Wednesday, the governor's office added.

The PKK, labelled as a terrorist group by Turkey and much of the international community, took up arms for autonomy in Kurdish-majority south-eastern Turkey in 1984, sparking a conflict that has claimed about 45,000 lives.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2012