Alwaght- Clashes between Turkey military and Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) have claimed lives of eight Turkish forces and two dozen militants on Friday and Saturday.
Turkish daily Hurriyet News cited the Van governor’s office as confirming that Eight Turkish soldiers have been killed and eight others injured during an operation against PKK militants in Turkey's eastern province.
The office also announced that at least 11 PKK militants were killed during the clash that erupted on Sept 2.
Separately, Turkish air force killed 13 PKK militants early on Saturday in an air operation in the Mount Tendurek region between the Agrı and Van provinces between, the Turkish General Staff said in a statement.
Fighter jets belonging to the Turkish Armed Forces carried out three airstrikes in total, the military added.
Ankara has been engaged in a large-scale anti-PKK campaign in its southern border region over the past few months. The Turkish military has also been pounding the group’s positions in northern Iraq as well in breach of the Arab country’s sovereignty.
Turkey’s operations began in the wake of a deadly July 2015 bombing in Suruc, which the Turkish government blamed on the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group.
After the bombing, the PKK militants, who accuse Ankara of supporting ISIS, engaged in a series of reprisal attacks against Turkish police and security forces, prompting the Turkish military operations.
A shaky ceasefire between Ankara and the PKK that had stood since 2013 was declared null and void by the militants following the Turkish strikes against the group.
According to the latest toll provided by the state run Anadolu news agency in July, more than 600 Turkish security force members and over 7,000 PKK militants have been killed since the collapse of the truce.