Nine Kurdish fighters killed in clash with Turkish military
Turkish soldiers on Tuesday killed nine members of the outlawed Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) during clashes in the south-eastern province of Hakkari, the Anadolu news agency reported.
The gunfight in a mountainous area reportedly followed a PKK attack on a military post, dpa reported.
The PKK had initially sought to create an independent Kurdish state, but now says it is fighting for increased political and cultural rights for Turkey's Kurdish minority. Kurdish groups say their ethnic group is systematically discriminated against in Turkey.
The Kurdish conflict has claimed more than 42,000 lives in the country in the past 25 years.
The PKK has been classified as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union.
