Turkish soldiers, and Kurdish militants killed

The Turkish army's high command said in a statement on Friday that two soldiers had been killed in two separate attacks by the militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in the Sirnak province on Thursday. This province is close to Turkey's border with Iraq.

According to the army, the military responded with airstrikes on PKK positions, in which 34 Kurdish militants were killed. News agencies reported that it was not possible to independently confirm the losses in the PKK's camp.

The PKK fights for greater Kurdish autonomy. The organization is viewed as a terrorist group in both the USA and Europe.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (photo) launched a major "anti-terrorist" campaign against the PKK in July. The group hit back, killing around 150 Turkish soldiers and police, according to pro-government media, which estimate that more than a thousand rebels died in the clashes.

This escalation shattered a peace process launched by Erdogan in 2012, which had raised hopes to end the three-decade conflict with the PKK, which claimed more than 40,000 lives.

The recent clashes came at a very difficult time for Turkey. The country is already tackling the complex humanitarian consequences of the civil war in neighboring Syria.

Turkey is estimated to host more than 1 million Syrians, according to the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR. The number of refugees and asylum-seekers in Turkey is expected to rise to nearly 1.9 million in 2015, including 1.7 Syrian refugees.

das / rg (Reuters, AFP)