One Turkish soldier was killed in a fire fight in the town of Cizre, in the southeastern Turkish Sirnak province, Anadolu news agency reported Friday.

The Turkish forces continue an operation against the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) with the aim to eliminate the group, which is designated by the Turkish government as terrorist.

The operations mark a new escalation in five months of fighting between the army and the PKK since a two-and-a-half year truce collapsed in July.

The PKK launched a formal insurgency against the Turkish state in 1984, initially fighting for Kurdish independence although it now presses more for greater autonomy and rights for the country's largest ethnic minority. The conflict has left tens of thousands dead.

Source: MENA