News / Turkey

Turkish soldier killed in operation against PKK

Saturday, 19 December 2015 11:58 AM [ Last Update: Saturday, 19 December 2015 11:59 AM ]

Turkish police officers carry the coffin of their comrade Enis Kirimli (picture) during his funeral at the police headquarters in Diyarbakir, southeastern Turkey, on November 23, 2015. (© AFP)

At least one Turkish soldier has been killed and another injured during a clean-up operation against members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militant group in Turkey’s volatile southeastern province of Sirnak.

The Turkish General Staff announced in a statement that the offensive was carried out in the town of Cizre, located about 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) southeast of the capital, Ankara, late on Friday as Turkish forces and PKK militants engaged in a firefight.

The statement added that the wounded soldier was transferred to a local hospital, where he is receiving medical treatment.

Ankara has been engaged in a large-scale campaign against the PKK in its southern border region in the recent past. The Turkish military has also been conducting offensives against the positions of the group in northern Iraq.

Militants of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) stand behind a barricade during clashes with Turkish forces at Bismil district of Diyarbakir Province, southeastern Turkey, on September 28, 2015. (© AFP)

The operations began in the wake of a deadly July 20 bombing in the southern Turkish town of Suruc. More than 30 people died in the attack, which the Turkish government blamed on Takfiri Daesh terrorist group. After the bombing, the PKK militants, who accuse the government in Ankara of supporting Daesh, engaged in a series of supposed reprisal attacks against Turkish police and security forces, in turn prompting the Turkish military operations.

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