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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Two Turkish soldiers were killed and another wounded when Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) fighters attacked their military vehicle in Hakkari province, southeast Turkey on Tuesday, Turkey’s Defense Ministry said.
Hakkari, which borders both Iran and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, has seen regular clashes between Turkish forces and PKK fighters.
The ministry said “the incident caused us deep pain”, according to reports from state media agency Anadolu. The PKK has not issued a statement.
The conflict, which began in the 1980s, has caused around 40,000 deaths on both sides, including civilians.
Turkish operations against the PKK have intensified since Turkey launched Operation Claw on May 27.
It claims to have “neutralized” dozens of PKK fighters. The PKK rejects Turkish claims as “propaganda”.
Turkey uses the term “neutralized” to denote captured, wounded, or killed.
In a separate statement, the Defense Ministry said its forces “neutralized” three PKK fighters on the border with the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
“In coordination with Operation Claw, the PKK separatist terrorist organization’s weapon depots and hiding positions were targeted in the Metina region in northern Iraq, neutralizing three more terrorists,” read the statement.
The PKK has not confirmed the attack in Hakkari or the fatalities in Metina. It has however released photographs of five PKK fighters killed in Dersim province, Turkey on May 10.
Turkish media announced the death of a senior PKK official on Monday which was later confirmed by the PKK.
Diyar Ghareeb (or Halmat) was one of the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK)’s seven-member General Leadership Council.
Ghareeb had served in their ranks for 25 years, “receiving education from leader Apo [Abdullah Ocalan],” the PKK’s jailed founder, according to a KCK statement.
Turkey and the PKK reached a ceasefire deal in 2013 which lasted for more than two years, but deadly fighting soon resumed in the Kurdish provinces in southeast and eastern Turkey.
Turkish forces retook several of these areas from the PKK.
Some 4,472 people have been killed since the peace process fell apart on July 20, 2015, according to the most recent figures from the International Crisis Group (ICG).
After Turkish authorities recently allowed jailed PKK leader Ocalan to meet his lawyers and relatives, following years of solitary confinement, a new peace process appeared possible.
In an op-ed for the Washington Post published July 3, Camil Bayik, one of the five founders of the PKK and a senior commander of the group, said they “are committed to negotiating a political solution of the Kurdish question within Turkey’s borders”.
Hakkari, which borders both Iran and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, has seen regular clashes between Turkish forces and PKK fighters.
The ministry said “the incident caused us deep pain”, according to reports from state media agency Anadolu. The PKK has not issued a statement.
The conflict, which began in the 1980s, has caused around 40,000 deaths on both sides, including civilians.
Turkish operations against the PKK have intensified since Turkey launched Operation Claw on May 27.
It claims to have “neutralized” dozens of PKK fighters. The PKK rejects Turkish claims as “propaganda”.
Turkey uses the term “neutralized” to denote captured, wounded, or killed.
In a separate statement, the Defense Ministry said its forces “neutralized” three PKK fighters on the border with the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
“In coordination with Operation Claw, the PKK separatist terrorist organization’s weapon depots and hiding positions were targeted in the Metina region in northern Iraq, neutralizing three more terrorists,” read the statement.
The PKK has not confirmed the attack in Hakkari or the fatalities in Metina. It has however released photographs of five PKK fighters killed in Dersim province, Turkey on May 10.
Turkish media announced the death of a senior PKK official on Monday which was later confirmed by the PKK.
Diyar Ghareeb (or Halmat) was one of the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK)’s seven-member General Leadership Council.
Ghareeb had served in their ranks for 25 years, “receiving education from leader Apo [Abdullah Ocalan],” the PKK’s jailed founder, according to a KCK statement.
Turkey and the PKK reached a ceasefire deal in 2013 which lasted for more than two years, but deadly fighting soon resumed in the Kurdish provinces in southeast and eastern Turkey.
Turkish forces retook several of these areas from the PKK.
Some 4,472 people have been killed since the peace process fell apart on July 20, 2015, according to the most recent figures from the International Crisis Group (ICG).
After Turkish authorities recently allowed jailed PKK leader Ocalan to meet his lawyers and relatives, following years of solitary confinement, a new peace process appeared possible.
In an op-ed for the Washington Post published July 3, Camil Bayik, one of the five founders of the PKK and a senior commander of the group, said they “are committed to negotiating a political solution of the Kurdish question within Turkey’s borders”.
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