Turkish soldier killed in clash in Iraq, defence ministry says

A Turkish soldier was killed and four others were wounded in a clash with militants from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in northern Iraq, Turkey's defence ministry said on Tuesday.

Six PKK members were also killed in the clashes that took place in a region where the Turkish Armed Forces are conducting an operation dubbed "Claw-Lock" against militant targets, the ministry said.

In its statement, the defence ministry used the term "neutralised," commonly used to mean "killed."

In a separate statement later on Tuesday, the ministry said Turkish forces had carried out air strikes in the Metina, Zap, Hakurk, Gara and Qandil regions of northern Iraq, adding that 27 targets, including caves, shelters and bunkers it said were used by PKK militants, had been destroyed in the strikes.

The PKK, designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, took up arms against the Turkish state in 1984. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the insurgency.

Senior Turkish and Iraqi officials held high-level talks in Baghdad last week to discuss security issues including potential measures against the PKK, after Turkey warned of new military operations in the region.

Turkey has conducted years of cross-border military operations against militants that have left roughly half the Syrian territory bordering Turkey and all of Iraqi territory bordering Turkey controlled or overseen by Turkey's military.