ISTANBUL — Seven Turkish security personnel were killed when a reconnaissance plane crashed in eastern Van province, state-owned Anadolu news agency quoted the interior minister as saying on Thursday. Suleyman Soylu said the plane crashed on a mountain at an altitude of 2,200 feet (670 metres). Broadcaster NTV quoted Soylu as saying that the last contact from the plane was received at 10.32 pm (1932 GMT) on Wednesday. Turkish security forces have been fighting Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants in southeast Turkey in a conflict which has killed more than 40,000 people. The PKK took up arms against the Turkish state in 1984, waging an insurgency for autonomy in the largely Kurdish southeast.

Source: New York Times July 16, 2020 03:09 UTC