Turkish soldier killed fighting Kurds in Iraq

ANKARA: A Turkish soldier died Sunday during clashes with Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, the defence ministry said.

Turkey launched last week an air and ground offensive dubbed "Operation Claw-Tiger" against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

A defence ministry statement said the soldier was wounded in clashes with "terrorists in the Operation Claw-Tiger region" and died later in hospital.

It did not say exactly where the fighting occurred.

The death was the second of a Turkish soldier following one on Friday.

Turkish forces frequently conduct operations against PKK hideouts in southeast Turkey and rear bases in Iraq.

The PKK, which has fought an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984, is listed as a terrorist organisation by Ankara and its Western allies.

Meanwhile, five civilians have been killed by Turkish air raids in northern Iraq, local officials said Friday, after Baghdad lodged an official protest against the operation.