Kurdish rebels release 8 Turkish captives

Kurdish rebels have freed eight Turkish soldiers and officials as part of peace efforts with Turkey's government. The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) handed the six soldiers, one police officer and a local official to a Turkish delegation Monday in northern Iraq, where the outlawed group held at least some of the detainees for more than a year. Jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan had called for the captives to be released. He and the Turkish government have been in talks since last year to try to end a 28-year Kurdish insurgency aimed at gaining greater autonomy. The conflict has claimed nearly 40,000 lives. Turkey and much of the international community, including the United States, consider the PKK a terrorist group.