1 1 vote Rate Article

DAMASCUS, SYRIA (10:50 A.M.) – Eight Turkish soldiers have been killed over the past 24 hours due to actions by the PKK’s (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) guerrilla army, a statement by the group read.

On Monday afternoon, an all-female PKK platoon launched a hit-and-run attack on a Turkish military outpost at the Petrut hill in the countryside of Çukurca.

Following the raid, 7 Turkish soldiers lay dead on the battlefield while two sandbag trenches were wrecked and a MG3 machine-gun destroyed.

Shortly after, the Turkish Air Force flew dozens of sorties over the targeted area, hoping to eliminate the PKK fighters. According to the PKK statement, the women retreated into the mountains without suffering any casualties in their own ranks. As they fled the site, it was pounded by howitzers and mortars too.

This rural area, increasingly dangerous for Turkish Army troops, is located in Hakkari province in southern Turkey, a predominately Kurdish region that borders Iraq.

Elsewhere, a second PKK attack struck the Sikera Sipi hilltop in the Semdinli district ( Hakkari province), resulting in the death of at least one Turkish soldier on Monday.