Military kills 5 PKK terrorists in eastern Turkey

By Burak Milli and Cuneyt Celik

HATAY/KARS, Turkey

Five PKK terrorists were killed during an operation early August in eastern Kars province, a regional governor’s office announced on Thursday.

In a written statement, Kars Governor’s Office said five terrorists were killed during an air-supported counter-terrorism operation in the countryside of Kagizman district between Aug. 7 and Aug. 8.

Separately, a soldier succumbed to his wounds following clashes with PKK terrorists in southern Hatay province on Thursday, a hospital source said.

The soldier breathed his last at the Iskenderun State Hospital after he got injured in an anti-terror operation in the province’s Amanos Mountains countryside, the source, who spoke on condition.

More than 1,200 people, including security force personnel and civilians, have lost their lives since the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU -- resumed its decades-old armed campaign in July 2015.