ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The armed wing of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) released its death toll from the recent clashes with Turkish government forces, claiming they killed 417 Turkish soldiers and police officers and lost 42 fighters in skirmishes and air raids.
The PKK’s People's Defence Forces, also known as HPG, said in a statement released Friday that, since the outbreak of the July 24 clashes, the Turkish government launched 62 offensives against the group and in return HPG launched 191 offensives inside the country.
Turkish officials released different numbers for casualties. Ankara claimed Turkish security forces had killed 814 PKK fighters, mainly in air attacks in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Turkey also confirmed that 60 soldiers and police officers were killed by the PKK.
The Turkish government reignited a war with the PKK after the rebels claimed responsibility for the deaths of two army officers in late July. The fighting has ended a 2013 ceasefire that was meant to resolve a three-decade conflict in which some 40,000 people have been killed.
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