Asia

Asia

4 Turkish soldiers die in clashes with PKK

17 May 2012 21:23 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Four soldiers of Turkish security forces were killed and five others injured during clashes with the outlawed Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK) members on Thursday, APA reports quoting Today’s Zaman.

The clashes happened in the southern province of Hatay and eastern province of Hakkari separately, said the report, adding that four PKK members were also killed in the fighting in Hatay.

PKK members opened fire on security forces in Hatay province when the soldiers were conducting an operation in a forested area in rural area of Amonaslar, according to a statement posted on the website of Hatay Governor’s Office.

Meanwhile, the PKK attacked a military outpost with mortars in Hakkari province in the town of Derecik in Semdinli on Thursday afternoon, killing one soldier and injuring four others, including one civilian.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, took up arms in 1984 in an attempt to create an ethnic homeland in southeastern Turkey. Since then, more than 40,000 people have been killed in conflicts involving the group.