A Turkish soldier and PKK rebel member were killed in clashes on Tuesday between government troops and PKK armed fighters in southeast Turkey where the population is mostly Kurds. According to Ihlas news agency, the clashes took place in an area called Siirt, close to the Iraqi and Iranian borders. The troops accosted the PKK fighters while patroling the region. Following the armed clashes between both sides, army troops secured the area which is currently under a heavyily-armed watch.The southeastern regions in Turkey have witnessed a Kurdish uprising for nearly 15 years now, mainly carried out by members of the banned Kurdish PKK party. Up to 37,000 people have so far perished in the continuous clashes between government troops and PKK fighters. In 1999, the PKK ostensibly announced it had abandoned armed struggle against the government while it sought a peaceful solution to the Kurdish problem in Turkey.