In a military operation in Semdinli, in Turkey’s border region with Iran and Iraq, Turkish soldiers killed five PKK on Friday, Reuters reported citing security sources.
The operation was in retaliation for the death of Ahmet Budak who was killed on Wednesday.
Budak was the Justice and Development Party (AKP) candidate in Hakkari in the November 2015 elections. He was shot outside his home on Wednesday while in the presence of his son, Turkish media reported.
Budak later died in hospital.
A three day curfew was announced in the town and a security operation was launched to apprehend the shooters.
Security sources told Reuters that three suspected PKK fighters were killed in Semdinli and two others were killed close by. The source did not give any further details.
There has been no claim of responsibility for the killing of Budak.
Violence between Turkish forces and the PKK in the southeast has started to heat up again. The number of casualties rose in August for the first time since they peaked in February, according to data compiled by the International Crisis Group. The majority of those killed in August have been in rural areas.
On Thursday, ten people in a village north of Hakkari were killed, including seven village guards, two soldiers, and one civilian. The Turkish military blamed the PKK.
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