Four Turkish soldiers killed in clashes with PKK

ISTANBUL: Four Turkish soldiers were killed on Friday in clashes with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) near the border with Iraq, Turkey's Defence Ministry said on Saturday.

Demiroren News Agency said a military base had been attacked in the mountainous Cukurca district of Turkey's southeastern province of Hakkari, prompting the Turkish military to respond with a "large-scale" military operation.

"As part of ongoing operations in the Turkey-Iraq border, two soldiers were killed in clashes with terrorists despite all efforts to save them," the ministry said, adding a total of four soldiers were killed and six wounded.

"Terrorists are under intense fire with the air operation and fire support vehicles in the region," it said.

The PKK, which has waged an insurgency for autonomy in Turkey's largely Kurdish southeast since 1984, is deemed a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.