NINEVEH, Iraq

One Iraqi soldier was killed on Tuesday in renewed clashes with gunmen affiliated with PKK terrorist group in the northern Nineveh province, a police officer said.

Captain Marawan al-Hejami, said clashes erupted between military forces and a PKK-affiliated militia called Sinjar Resistance Units north of Sinjar near the Syrian border.

Three militiamen have been taken into custody, the officer said adding that a number of people have been injured from both sides.

On Sunday, two Iraqi soldiers killed in clashes with PKK terrorists in Sinjar after an attack on a security checkpoint.

In mid-2014, the PKK sent fighters to Sinjar -- from Syria and Iraq’ northeastern Qandil region -- on the pretext that it was protecting Ezidis from the Daesh terrorist group.

In October 2017, the Iraqi government sent federal troops into parts of northern Iraq “disputed” between it and the Kurdish Regional Government -- including Sinjar.

After federal forces moved into Sinjar, the PKK falsely claimed to have withdrawn from the region.