ANKARA (Reuters) - The Turkish military killed 20 fighters from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) after they tried to attack army bases in the southeastern Hakkari province, the military said on Saturday.

The fighters crossed into Turkey from northern Iraq and attempted to launch attacks on military bases in the mountainous border region, the military said, without giving further details.

Turkey’s mainly Kurdish southeast has been rocked by violence since a 2-1/2 year ceasefire between the government and the PKK broke down in July last year. The PKK, which is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union and the United States, first took up arms in 1984.

More than 40,000 people, most of them Kurds, have died in the fighting since.