NEW DELHI (WION) – After Turkey accused Washington of questioning its account of the massacre in Iraq, the U.S. State Department has finally affirmed the Turkish hostages in northern Iraq were killed by the members of PKK.

Turkey said Sunday that 13 Turkish hostages, including soldiers and police officers, held by a Kurdish militant group had been found executed in a cave in northern Iraq. The bodies were found during a Turkish military operation against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), that began last week, according to a Defence Ministry statement. The ministry did not say exactly when the bodies were discovered or whether the executions had occurred during a rescue attempt. All but one of the victims was killed with a bullet to the head, the ministry said.

The Kurdish fighters have always proved to be the most effective and reliable allies of the United States on the ground, which has helped the populations to consolidate their hold on the border territory with Turkey. Subsequently, Turkey and its friends made incursions into Iraq and Syria, and took control of part of the territory previously held by Kurdish forces.