ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Two Turkish soldiers were killed and one was wounded on Thursday in northern Iraq’s Avasin Basyan region by Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants, Turkey’s military said.

Separately, four militants were killed in the southeastern Turkish province of Tunceli, Dogan news agency said.

A ceasefire between the Turkish state and PKK militants broke down in July 2015 and southeast Turkey subsequently saw some of the worst violence since the group launched its insurgency in 1984.

More than 40,000 people, mostly Kurds, have been killed in the conflict. The PKK is designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.