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PKK’s Armed Wing Claims Killing 48 Turkish Soldiers in 48 Hours

© AP Photo / Cagdas ErdoganA militant of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, stands at a barricade in Sirnak, Turkey, late Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2015.
A militant of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, stands at a barricade in Sirnak, Turkey, late Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2015. - Sputnik International
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Nearly 50 Turkish soldiers were killed in clashes over the past two days in southeastern Turkey, the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) military wing said Saturday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The People’s Defense Forces (HPG) claimed in a statement that 48 Turkish troops were killed after an hour-long shootout in the province of Hakkari on the border with Iraqi Kurdistan. It added that 15 of the soldiers have been buried.

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Turkish Air Force Strikes PKK in Country's Southeast, North Iraq
HPG said it lost two of its fighters in the clashes that began early Friday.

The group also took credit for downing Turkey’s Kobra military helicopter that led to the deaths of two pilots on Friday.

Tensions between Ankara and the Kurds escalated in July 2015 as fighting between the PKK and the Turkish army resumed. Ankara has imposed several round-the-clock curfews in Kurdish-populated towns, preventing civilians from fleeing the regions where the military operations are taking place.

On Friday, Turkish jets launched airstrikes in the northern Iraq province of Dohuk where Ankara suspects militants use as a hideout to stage attacks on Turkish security officers.

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