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13 Dead in Clashes between Turkish Troops, Kurdish Gunmen

13 Dead in Clashes between Turkish Troops, Kurdish Gunmen

Thursday, 2 November, 2017 - 12:30
Turkish soldiers prepare the coffins of fallen comrades killed in a Kurdish rebel attack before a ceremony at the military airport in Van, Turkey, Sept. 8, 2015. AP photo

Eight members of the Turkish security forces and five Kurdish militants were killed in clashes on Thursday in Turkey's restive southeast that borders northern Iraq, the army said.


Six soldiers and two military security guards died while two soldiers were wounded -- one heavily -- after fighting broke out in the Semdinli district of Hakkari province, the armed forces said in a statement.


The military reported it had killed five members of the "separatist terror organization", Turkey's official term for the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).


It was not possible to independently verify the toll.


The armed forces said the militants were "trying to benefit from the heavy fog and bad weather conditions" to launch an attack.


The military operations in the region continue, the army said.


The PKK is proscribed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.


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