PKK terrorists opened fire on a group of Turkish soldiers who were at a checkpoint on the Şemdinli-Tekeli highway at around 7.05 a.m. on Wednesday in the southeastern province of Hakkari, the Turkish military said. The soldiers reportedly retaliated to the terrorists' fire. One soldier died, while two others were injured during the conflict.

The Turkish military said, it immediately dispatched F-16 war planes to the area, destroying the terrorist targets. Twenty members of the terrorist organization were reportedly killed in the air operation.

Furthermore, police on Wednesday carried out dawn raids and detained suspects as part of an anti-terrorism operation in Istanbul's Esenyurt, Bağcılar and Küçükçekmece districts.

The operation was reportedly supported by special operations units.

Turkey has been hit by violence since a suicide bomb attack by a suspected Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) supporter killed 32 activists in Suruç on July 20.

The government has intensified its counterterror operations following the recent attacks carried out by the PKK, which is recognized as a terrorist organization by the U.S., the EU and Turkey.

Formed in 1978, the terrorist group was fighting the government for an independent state until the early 2000's. The group then shifted its goal to autonomy in the predominately Kurdish inhabited regions of Turkey.

The PKK announced on July 11 that the cease-fire, which was declared via a message from the PKK's imprisoned leader Abdullah Öcalan in 2013, has ended.

Security forces have arrested hundreds of people with suspected links to ISIS, the PKK, and leftist groups, detaining over 1,300 people across the country, according to a recent statement released by the Prime Ministery. The Turkish Air Force has been carrying out airstrikes against the PKK in northern Iraq and ISIS militants in northern Syria.