Fighting between Turkish forces, Kurdish rebels kills 43

English edition of Asharq Al-Awsat – the world’s premier pan-Arab daily.

Turkey’s army killed 35 militants after they attempted to storm a base in the southeastern Hakkari province early on July 30, the military said in a written statement.

According to Turkish officials, the surging Kurdish militants were spotted by aerial inspection by the army forces, when they tried to take the base.

The strikes killed 23 persons, while four others were killed in ground operations.

A group of PKK terrorists attacked the soldiers with long-barrelled weapons while the troops were conducting identity checks on the Çukurca-Hakkari Highway.

On Thursday, Turkey announced an overhaul of the armed forces following the coup attempt launched on 15 July.

Attacks against Turkish military personnel intensified since the collapse of a two-and-a-half-year ceasefire last July, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of security forces.

Tens of thousands of civilians have been killed since PKK began its campaign in 1984. Some cities in the predominantly Kurdish southeast have been engulfed in the worst violence since the 1990s.

The conflict between Turkey and the PKK, which demands the creation of an independent Kurdish state, has continued for over 25 years and has claimed more than 40,000 lives.