The serviceman was fatally wounded in a firefight with PKK members Operation Claw-Tiger’s mission area, T24 reported, citing a ministry statement. The soldier later died at the hospital despite medical intervention.

Two PKK members were also killed in the battle, the statement claimed.

Turkey launched Operation Claw-Tiger on Wednesday, targeting the PKK in various regions of the Kurdish region in the north of Iraq.

Another Turkish soldier was announced killed in the operation on Friday.

The PKK has been fighting an insurgency against the Turkish state for four decades.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed in the conflict, including 7,918 members of Turkey’s security forces, 5,557 civilians and 22,101 PKK members between 1981 and 2012, according to a report by Turkish parliament.

Turkey regularly targets PKK in operations on home soil and in Kurdistan Region, where the armed group’s headquarters is located.

Reporter’s code: 50101