PKK militants clashing with each other: Military

Two groups within the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) have engaged in an internal armed clash, according to radio communication revealed by the Turkish military, marking one of the first of such conflicts since the apprehension of PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, who was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1999.

Intercepting the radio communications of PKK militants, troops from the Hakkari 3rd Division Command revealed that around 50 shots were fired from the south of Tarzo Tepe region near the Şetünüs region in northern Iraq. There were casualties in the clash while sources in the region also confirmed gunshots.

"We shot Ciwan along with four others. The others escaped to the opponent side and we are following," one intercepted radio conversation revealed.

According to the military, the armed clash erupted between militants who recently joined the organization and older militants. 

The new militants were reportedly forced to clash on the front line, leading to their deaths. Older radio communications also confirmed similar clashes within the party have taken place.

Security forces, meanwhile, took precautions against the militants who reportedly escaped to the Turkish side.

In addition, a total of 510 PKK militants have been "neutralized" in security operations conducted in the rural area of Çukurca and Yüksekova districts of the eastern province of Hakkari since Aug. 24, military sources said.

Neutralized is a euphemism used by the Turkish military to denote enemy militants that either killed or incapacitated.

Over the past three months, areas that the organization described as impenetrable were cleared of militants as a result of raids.

Separately, a total of 71 suspects have been...