Twenty-two militants from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) have been killed in ongoing clashes in Turkey's southeast, the daily Hürriyet reported on its website today.
The military has been conducting operations in the region since July 25, and clashes intensified after nearly 100 PKK militants, crossing from northern Iraq, reached the town of Şemdinli on the night of July 29 in the eastern province of Hakkari.
The attack on Şemdinli was repelled by security forces and a counterattack was launched against the PKK, centering on the Goman mountains three kilometers away from Şemdinli’s center. Cobra gunships kept possible escape routes under fire as soldiers and supplies were dropped off on the mountains with Sikorsky transport helicopters. Smoke rose from the areas targeted by the military.
Latest reports say the PKK militants were surrounded in a rural area between the villages of Rüzgarlı, Bağlar and Yiğitler in Şemdinli.
22 PKK militants killed in southeastern Turkey
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