Turkish soldiers killed in clashes between army and PKK fighters

2015-08-15 225

Three soldiers were killed and six others wounded during clashes in the southeast of the Turkey, according to a statement from the Turkish military statement.

It’s the latest in a wave of fighting between the army and militants from the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK.

Turkey’s crackdown on the outlawed PKK is being waged at the same time the country is being urged to beef up its offensive against the group calling itself Islamic State (ISIL).

The soldiers were killed in the city of Hakkari, close to Turkey’s borders with Iran and Iraq.

Kurdish militant ceasefire declared in March 2013

Last week (August 7), PKK fighters fired a rocket at an armoured car in the town of Cizre killing one police officer and wounding another.

The PKK has been designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union. It launched an insurgency in 1984. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict.

Turkey launched a peace process with the PKK in late 2012. A ceasef