At least 15 rebels from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) were killed in a military operation by Turkish security forces in Hakkari on the Iraq border on Sunday, August 19, following a land mine blast that killed one soldier.

As Today’s Zaman reported citing private Cihan news agency, Turkish security forces, backed by military helicopters, clashed with the PKK terrorists in Dağlıca neighborhood of Hakkari’s Yüksekova district.

Sources said the security forces destroyed four PKK targets in Kamışlı village and in its vicinity during the operation.

The clashes followed a land mine blast that killed one Turkish soldier and injured two others on Saturday.