ANKARA: At least 20 Kurdish rebels and six Turkish soldiers have been killed in several days of clashes in eastern and southeastern Turkey, a security source said on Sunday.
According to the reports, the fighting erupted despite a pledge by the rebel Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to suspend all offensive actions ahead of Turkey’s snap elections next month.
Four soldiers were killed in several days of intense battles, some involving helicopters, in the mountainous Daglica region near the Iraqi border, the source said, while about 20 rebels died.
Another two soldiers were killed on Sunday when rebels set off a remote-controlled mine targeting an army vehicle in the eastern province of Tunceli, the Anatolia news agency said.
Two soldiers were also wounded. The PKK pledge was seen as an attempt to help the pro-Kurdish People’s Democracy Party (HDP) boost its score in the polls on November 1.
