Separate blasts in Turkey wound 11

A train in southeastern Turkey derailed yesterday after hitting a land mine placed by suspected Kurdish separatists, while a separate mine blast wounded 10 soldiers, security officials said.

The freight train's driver was injured in the blast, which caused five wagons to derail as the train travelled through Bingol province, an official told Reuters.

In a separate incident, 10 soldiers were wounded when the vehicle they were travelling in hit a mine on a road in Sirnak province near the Iraqi border, another security official.

Fighting between Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) separatists and Turkish security forces has been on the rise since the guerillas called off a unilateral ceasefire on June 1.

Turkey blamed the PKK for bomb attacks on two small hotels in a popular Istanbul tourist location earlier this month, for which both a previously unknown Kurdish group and a group linking itself with al Qaeda claimed responsibility.