Alwaght- Five Kurdish fighters were killed in a clash with Turkish forces in the eastern Agri province on Saturday, the military said.
According to Turkish military, fighters from the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) opened fire and wounded four soldiers in the Diyadin district of Agri near the Iranian border.
“During the positioning in the region, members of the separatist terror organization members opened fire on our elements. The attack was promptly responded and four of our military personnel were injured in the first fire,” Turkish General Staff said in a statement. “A reconnaissance plane, armed helicopters and additional commando units have been dispatched to the area and the clashes are ongoing”.
Ankara and the PKK agreed to a ceasefire two years ago, as part of negotiations to end a three-decade clashes that has killed 40,000 people.
The PKK is banned in Turkey as a terrorist organization for leading a 30-year struggle against Ankara in order to create a Kurdish autonomous region in the country’s southeast.
Last year, Turkey had blocked Kurdish fighters from crossing the border into Syria to aid Syrian kurds in defending the border town of Kobani. People attempting to carry supplies across the border were often shot at while terrorists were able to cross to northern parts of the Kurdish cities and towns in Syria
The PKK is banned in Turkey as a terrorist organization for leading a 30-year struggle against Ankara in order to create a Kurdish autonomous region in the country’s southeast.