The reconnaissance plane crashed into Mount Artos, a dormant volcano in Van, and it had been conducting "reconnaissance and surveillance" in the province and the predominantly-Kurdish Hakkari province since Monday, Anadolu said.

The two border provinces have been the scene of several clashes between Turkish forces and Kurdish fighters during a decades-long insurgency.

Van provincial governor Mehmet Emin Bilmez said a government investigation into the incident was underway.

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