Two Turkish soldiers, 16 PKK militants killed in clashes

DİYARBAKIR - Agence France-Presse

Sgt. Murat Bayram was killed in the clashes. DHA photo

Two Turkish soldiers and 16 militants have been killed in clashes in the country's southeast since yesterday, local authorities said today.

A security source said yesterday 10 members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) died in two separate incidents, but the toll has been revised upwards for the clashes in Şırnak province bordering Iraq.

Some 15 militants were killed when the army raided a rural and mountainous part of the province, where the PKK is known to have bases, according to a local governorate statement. Specialist Sgt. İbrahim Kurt and non-commissioned officer Sgt. Murat Bayram were killed during the same raid. 

In the other incident, security forces in Diyarbakır killed a driver in fighting that broke out after they halted his vehicle and found 125 kilograms of explosives in it.

Clashes between the Turkish army and the PKK have intensified in recent months.

In October, Turkey launched an air and land offensive against PKK militants both in the southeast as well as in northern Iraq after 24 soldiers were slaughtered in an ambush.

Turkey recognizes the PKK as a terrorist organization, as do the European Union and United States.