By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Turkey's military says its troops killed 696 Kurdish rebels in clashes in 2008.
Military spokesman Brig. Gen. Metin Gurak says another 237 rebels were captured and 177 surrendered.
Gurak said Friday that 171 security personnel including soldiers, police and government-paid village guards, were killed fighting the rebels.
There was no immediate comment from the rebel group, the Kurdistan Workers' Party, which has been fighting for autonomy in southeast Turkey since 1984. The group has denied the military's death toll in the past.
Turkey last year launched several air force attacks and one major ground operation against rebel bases in northern Iraq.
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