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Fighting between Turkish forces, Kurdish rebels kills 43

Turkish soldiers stand guard in this March, 2016 file picture.

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One soldier was killed in Turkey’s southeastern Hakkari province during a conflict with PKK extremists Sunday.

They said the fighters attempted to take the base in three different groups, but were spotted by aerial reconnaissance.

The strikes killed 23 persons, while four others were killed in ground operations.

Over 500 members of Turkish security forces and thousands of PKK members have been killed in confrontations inside Turkey and in northern Iraq since last July.

According to sources speaking on condition of confidentiality due to restrictions on speaking to the media, soldiers clashed with PKK extremists during an operation in Hakkari’s Altinsu district.

Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

On Thursday, Turkey announced an overhaul of the armed forces, with 99 colonels promoted to the rank of general or admiral and almost 1,700 military personnel given dishonorable discharges over their alleged roles in the coup. Turkish security forces were employed in a large-scale military operation in Hakkari to target Kurdish militants in the region before this month.

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Turkey has demanded the United States extradite Fethullah Gulen, a cleric living in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania whom it accuses of being behind the violent July 15 coup attempt that left more than 200 people dead.

Turkish soldiers search for missing military personnel suspected of being involved in the coup attempt in Marmaris Turkey