2 Turkish soldiers killed in clashes with PKK

Two Turkish soldiers were killed and five others wounded in the clashes with the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) on Monday, private Dogan news agency reported on Tuesday.

A group of PKK militants attacked government troops with rocket launchers in a village in Turkey's southeastern Hakkari province bordering Iraq and Iran, the report said.

After the clashes, Turkish security forces launched a large-scale operation against the PKK in the region, said the report.

Since a two-year cease-fire between the government and the PKK disintegrated last July, Turkish security forces have launched a major campaign against the PKK in southeast Turkey, leaving over 260 government troops and thousands of PKK members dead.

The PKK, waging a separatist war against Turkey since 1984, is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

Source: XINHUA