Anadolu news agency says the two soldiers were killed in ongoing operations against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party or PKK in the southeastern Hakkari province.
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At least 30 PKK terrorists were killed in airstrikes carried out by Turkish jets in northern Iraq Sunday, the military announced Monday.
Twelve soldiers were killed in two separate clashes in the Cukurca and Semdinli districts in Hakkari, the provincial governor’s office said, while in Van province, eight soldiers died during fighting between soldiers and militants.
Turkey’s south-east has been rocked by waves of violence following the collapse previous year of a ceasefire between the state and the PKK.
Prime Minister Binali Yildirim vowed that billions of lira would be invested in centres “damaged by PKK terror” during a televised speech in Diyarbakir today.
Turkish forces looked to double-down on recent military gains against the Kurdish PKK over the weekend, claiming to have “neutralized” more than 100 PKK fighters in the areas.
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Diyarbakir’s Sur, a UNESCO world heritage site, has been one scene of the fighting, where thousands have been displaced and the historic district ruined. “We’ve talked to our Education Ministry and all of the suspected teachers will be suspended and they won’t be assigned in the new term”, he continued, adding that the measures were being taken as a “precaution”.
