ERBIL, Iraq

At least three Hashd al-Shaabi fighters were killed in clashes with PKK terrorists in Iraq’s northern Sinjar district on Friday, according to local security sources.

A largely Shia fighting force, the Hashd al-Shaabi was incorporated into the Iraqi army last year. Since then, it has fought alongside Iraqi regular troops in a number of anti-Daesh operations.

Friday’s clashes erupted when Hashd fighters tried to enter the PKK-held village of Hanesur with heavy weapons, Ashiti Kocer, a local public security official, told Anadolu Agency.

Since 2014, the PKK has maintained a significant presence in Sinjar on the pretext that it was fighting Daesh.

Considered a terrorist group by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU, the PKK resumed its decades-long armed campaign against Turkey in mid-2015.

Since then, the terrorist group has been responsible for the death of 1,200 Turkish security personnel and civilians.

Reporting by Idris Okuducu; Writing by Sibel Ugurlu