Three Turkish soldiers killed, seven wounded in clashes with PKK

Three Turkish soldiers have been killed and another seven were hospitalised in clashes with Kurdish militants.

1 min read

25 August, 2019

Turkey has battled the PKK insurgency since the mid 1980s [Getty]

Three Turkish soldiers were killed in northern Iraq in clashes with Kurdish militants, Turkey's official state news agency reported on Sunday.

Anadolu Agency, citing the Turkish Defense Ministry, said Sunday that another seven soldiers were wounded and hospitalised.

Turkey launched "Operation Claw" in May into mountainous northern Iraq against the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK.

The offensive entered its third phase on Friday, in which troops aim to destroy PKK caves and shelters in the Sinat-Haftanin region.

Earlier this week, three Turkish soldiers and three PKK militants were killed in clashes near the town of Silopi in Sirnak province.

The PKK began an insurgency against Turkey in the country's mainly Kurdish southeast in 1984, and the conflict has killed tens of thousands of people.

Turkey, the United States and the European Union consider the group, based in the Qandil mountains of northern Iraq, a terror organisation.

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