Fighting between Turkish forces, Kurdish rebels kills 43

A woman sales Turkish flags in Istanbul, on Saturday, July 30, 2016. Turkey has demanded the United States extradite Fethullah Gulen, a cleric living in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania whom it accuses of being behind the violent July 15 coup attempt that left more than 200 people dead. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias) (The Associated Press)

ISTANBUL – Authorities say fighting between Turkish forces and Kurdish rebels in the restive southeast of the country has killed eight Turkish soldiers and 35 Kurdish fighters.

The office of Turkey's General Staff headquarters said Saturday the eight soldiers were killed in a clash Friday afternoon with Kurdish militants at a checkpoint in the southeastern Hakkari province. A subsequent operation against the Kurdish rebels left eight Kurds dead, the military said.

Separately, a further 27 fighters from the Kurdish Workers' Party, or PKK, were killed in the same province when Turkish troops launched an air-and-ground operation against groups of PKK fighters attempting to infiltrate an area early Saturday, the state-run Anadolu news agency said, quoting the military.