U.S. says working to free kidnapped Turkish soldiers

ANKARA (Reuters) - The United States is working with Turkish and Iraqi authorities to free Turkish soldiers held hostage by separatist Kurdish rebels, a U.S. State Department official said on Thursday.

"We are doing all we can, (we are) working with the Iraqi and Turkish governments to make sure the hostages are freed," Matthew Bryza, deputy assistant secretary for European and Eurasian affairs, said in a speech at an economic conference in Ankara.

Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) rebels say they kidnapped eight Turkish soldiers in an ambush which also left at least a dozen troops dead last weekend. Turkish authorities have not commented on the kidnappings yet.