Four Turkish soldiers were killed Friday in clashes with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) near the Iraq border, said the Turkish Defense Ministry Saturday. “As part of ongoing operations in the Turkey-Iraq border, two soldiers were killed in clashes with terrorists despite all efforts to save them,” the ministry said, adding that six troops were wounded. Demiroren News Agency said a military base had been attacked in the mountainous Cukurca district of Turkey’s southeastern province of Hakkari, prompting the Turkish military to respond with a “large-scale” military operation. “Terrorists are under intense fire with the air operation and fire support vehicles in the region,” the Defense Ministry said. The PKK, which has waged an insurgency for autonomy in Turkey’s largely Kurdish southeast since 1984, is deemed a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.