Turkey cracks down on Erdogan rivals

Turkey cracked down on rivals of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday and launched air strikes against Kurdish rebels, clearly signalling a return to hardline tactics after an election that cemented his grip on power.

 The West has voiced deep concerns about Sunday's vote that delivered Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) a landslide victory, fearing the country will slide into increasingly authoritarian rule.

 Hopes of a possible return to Kurdish peace talks after the vote were dashed after the  military said its warplanes bombed bases of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in southeastern Turkey and their northern Iraq stronghold on Monday.

 "Shelters, caves and arms depots identified as being used by terrorists from the separatist terrorist organisation were destroyed with air bombardments," it said in a statement.

 Three Kurdish rebels also died on Tuesday after clashes erupted with security forces in two areas of the restive southeast, the first reported deaths in PKK ranks since the election.

 Analysts say anxiety over the resurgent Kurdish conflict and a spate of bloody attacks by the Islamic State group were key reasons why voters flocked back to the AKP.

 In a turnaround that confounded pollsters, Erdogan's Islamic-rooted AKP reclaimed the majority it lost five months ago, winning almost half the votes and returning the Muslim-majority state of 78 million to single-party rule.

Caption: A street vendor sells scarves with a picture of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Photo Credit: news.yahoo.com