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Clashes with PKK Militias in Eastern Turkey Kill Two Soldiers | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Turkish soldiers in a tank and an armored vehicle patrol on the road to the town of Beytussebab in the southeastern Sirnak province, Turkey, September 28, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer


At least two Turkish soldiers were killed when troops clashed with Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) during operation in Dogubayazit district of Agri province, said the Ankara-based international news outlet Anadolu Agency.

A clash broke out between security forces and PKK terrorists near Kislak in a rural area in Agri’s Dogubeyazit district, according to a statement by the province’s governorship, the agency added.

The PKK is an armed terrorist organization, listed as such by the United States and the European Union.

Founded in 1974 and assuming paramilitary functions in 1984, the separatist PKK has used violence and terrorism in pursuit of Kurdish secession from the Republic of Turkey.

PKK actions and terror tactics have led to tens of thousands of military and civilian deaths over the past decades and have prevented lasting stability in southeastern Turkey.

More so, the two injured soldiers were rushed to a hospital in the Van province while others were sent to Dogubeyazit State Hospital.

Operations to nab the terrorists remained underway, a security source told Anadolu on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking with the media.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization also by the US and the EU. It resumed its 30-year armed campaign against the Turkish state in July 2015.

Since then, PKK terrorist attacks have killed over 600 security personnel and also claimed the lives of numerous civilians, including women and children, while more than 7,000 PKK terrorists have been neutralized by Turkish army operations.