Turkey says eight soldiers were killed and eight wounded in clashes with Kurdish militants in the country's east.

The governor's office of Van released a statement Saturday 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.

The three-decade-long conflict between Turkey and the PKK has killed an estimated 40,000 people. The state-run Anadolu news agency says more than 600 Turkish security personnel and thousands of PKK militants have been killed since a fragile cease-fire collapsed.

Rights groups say hundreds of civilians have also been killed in the clashes.

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