The ministry said the soldiers were killed in a clash that broke out when PKK fighters “tried to infiltrate” a Turkish military base.
“Five of our heroic comrades were martyred and eight were injured, including three with serious wounds. Our injured were sent to the hospital and are receiving treatment,” read a ministry statement.
The ministry claimed that 12 PKK fighters were “neutralized” in the fighting. Ankara uses the term “neutralize” to denote adversaries captured, wounded, or killed.
The Turkish ministry did not specify where the base was located, but PKK media reported hours earlier that the group targeted Turkish military bases located on Mount Zap in Duhok province’s Amedi district.
“At 5:05 pm Bashur (Kurdistan Region) time, an extended operation was launched in Amedi hill,” PKK-affiliated journalist Kawa Tolhildan said in a video shared by Sterk TV.
Claiming to be reporting from the conflict zone, Tolhildan said “great results” had been achieved “according to initial reports.”
Sterk TV also reported that the PKK seized numerous weapons from the base and shared a video purportedly showing the moment the attack was launched.
In the same area on Friday, a Turkish drone hit two PKK vehicles that were carrying weapons and injured two fighters, according to the Erbil-based Directorate General of Counter Terrorism (CTD).
Villagers in the Amedi area told Rudaw that they could hear the sounds of fighting from their homes.
Sirwan Sargali, from Sargale village, said the clashes were only two kilometres away and the sounds of warfare sparked fear in the village.
This is the second deadly clash this week. Another Turkish soldier was killed by the PKK in the Kurdistan Region, the defense ministry said on Thursday.
After the PKK killed 12 soldiers in the Kurdistan Region last December, Turkey responded by pounding critical infrastructure in northeast Syria (Rojava) where Ankara alleges PKK offshoots are in control.
