Kurds gather for PKK activists' funerals in Diyabakir

Kurds are gathering in south-east Turkey for the funerals of three Kurdish activists killed in Paris.

The bodies of the three female activists of the separatist PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) were flown to Diyarbakir late on Wednesday night.

PKK founding member Sakine Cansiz, Fidan Dogan and Leyla Soylemez were shot dead at a Kurdish centre in Paris last Thursday.

No group has said it killed them but many Kurds blame elements of the state.

Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, however, has suggested the deaths may have been intended to sabotage peace efforts.

Officials have been in talks with the jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan to put an end to the group's armed campaign.

Mr Erdogan has also said his government would continue anti-PKK operations until the Kurdish militants laid down their arms.

On Wednesday Turkish jets reportedly bombed Kurdish targets in northern Iraq for a third consecutive day.

Last year saw some of the heaviest fighting with the PKK in decades. Since the conflict began, more than 40,000 people have been killed.