Kurdish PKK guerrillas said on Sunday they had killed 47 Turkish troops since Turkey launched an offensive against their positions in northern Iraq.
Ahmed Danees, head of foreign relations for the separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), also said only two rebels had been killed and eight wounded since Turkey began its incursion into the largely autonomous region of Kurdistan on Thursday.
Earlier, Turkey's military General Staff said it had killed 112 guerrillas since fighting began. A statement on its Web site reported eight Turkish troops had been killed on Sunday.
It is almost impossible to verify the claims of either side because the fighting is taking place in largely inaccessible terrain in tough winter conditions.
Earlier on Sunday, the PKK said it had shot down a Turkish attack helicopter on Saturday. Turkey's military confirmed the helicopter had crashed but said the reason was not clear.
"The battle is very hard in six locations," Danees told Reuters by telephone. "Today we wounded a high-ranking officer from the Turkish army. The intelligence information is that he died in hospital." Danees also said that Turkish forces had tried to take a village where the rebels had the bodies of 15 Turkish soldiers. "We thwarted this attack and they turned back."
Comments
Comments are closed.