8 PKK members killed in clashes in southeast Turkey

BİNGÖL - Anatolia News Agency

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Turkish security forces killed eight alleged members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party during clashes in the southeastern province of Bingöl today. 

Bingöl Gov. Hakan Güvencer said the militants were killed in a clash near Yayladere town of the province.

Güvencer said security forces were conducting an operation on a house where suspected PKK members were hiding when. Security forces called for the residents to surrender, Güvencer said, to which the militants responded by opening fire. 

"Eight PKK members, of whom five were women, were killed in the ensuing firefight," Güvencer said. 

Meanwhile, 28 people were arrested for alleged links to the PKK in a separate operation in the Aydıncık town of southern province of Mersin.

Security forces seized 12 kilograms of explosives, 32 bomb mechanisms, 18 hand grenades and five long-range assault rifles. 

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