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BFF-24
IRAQ-TURKEY-KURDS-CONFLICT
Three Turkish soldiers killed in clash with PKK in Iraq
ANKARA, Aug 25, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Three Turkish soldiers were killed and
seven were wounded in a clash with Kurdish militants in northern Iraq, the
Turkish defence ministry said Sunday.
The statement came after Turkey on Friday launched the third phase of an
operation begun in May to root out fighters of the Kurdish Workers Party
(PKK) in the region.
It did not specify the location of the clashes.
The PKK, listed as a terrorist organisation by Ankara, the European Union
and the United States, has rear bases in northern Iraq.
Turkey began conducting a ground offensive and bombing campaign against
the PKK in the region in May.
The conflict has claimed more than 40,000 lives since the PKK took up arms
in 1984.
BSS/AFP/SSS/1910 hrs