ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey's military says its forces have killed 27 Kurdish rebels in Hakkari province near the Turkish border with Iraq and Iran.

In a statement issued Sunday, it said air strikes carried out Friday killed 20 fighters of the Kurdish Worker's Party, or PKK, in Semdinli district.

Another seven PKK fighters were killed during clashes in the same area in southeastern Turkey on Saturday.

Turkish war planes also deployed Saturday to hit PKK targets in the area of Gara in northern Iraq and in Diyarbakir province.

The Turkish state has been locked in conflict with Kurdish fighters since last summer when a 2.5-year truce with the PKK collapsed.

Turkey and its Western allies consider the PKK a terrorist organization.