Turkish military says kills 11 militants after Kurdish YPG fire from Syria

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey's military said that one of its outposts in the southeastern town of Ceylanpinar bordering Syria came under rocket attack early on Friday from Syrian territory held by the Kurdish YPG militia. The army returned fire, it said, killing 11 YPG militants. Military outposts in Turkey's Syria border area have come under intense fire over the past few days since Turkish warplanes struck Kurdish militant PKK targets in Iraq's Sinjar and northeastern Syria. Turkey has also been carrying out operations against Kurdish militants inside its borders. It has ramped up operations against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) following an April 16 referendum which passed constitutional changes that gave President Tayyip Erdogan sweeping executive powers. In a second statement on Friday, the Turkish military said 10 Kurdish militants, five of whom were women, had been killed in operations in the southeastern province of Tunceli. A total of 20 militants had been killed during the operation over three days. Turkey views the YPG as an extension of the PKK, which has waged a three-decade insurgency against the Turkish state for Kurdish autonomy. The PKK is designated a terrorist organization by the United States, European Union and Turkey. (Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and Tulay Karadeniz; Writing by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Dominic Evans and Ece Toksabay)