8 Turkish soldiers killed in eastern Turkey

Turkey: 8 Turkish soldiers have been killed and eight others injured during clashes with Kurdish militants in the country's east says Turkish military on Saturday.

In a statement released on Saturday by the governor's office of Van on operations against members of the ``separatist terror organization,'' (Turkey's description of the Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK).

The statement says, 11 militants were killed in the Friday operations around Tendurek mountain.
More than 40,000 people has been killed since the three-decade-long clashes between Turkey and the PKK began.

State-run Anadolu news agency says more than 600 Turkish security personnel and thousands of PKK militants have been killed since a cease-fire brokedown.