Turkish Prime Minister Davutoglu speaks during a joint news conference with U.S. Vice President Biden in Istanbul, Turkey.

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on Saturday said that the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) is a threat to Turkey like ISIS, condemning the Kurdish militants as “a terror group plain and simple.”

ISIS “is not the only existential threat to the people of Turkey, the PKK is equally a threat and we are aware of that.. it is a terror group plain and simple and what they continue to do is absolutely outrageous,” Biden said after talks with Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in Istanbul.

Meanwhile, a Turkish soldier was killed on Saturday in a clash between the security forces and PKK in the southeastern town of Cizre, the military said.

The soldier was severely wounded and died in hospital, it said, adding that seven PKK members had been “neutralized.”

Ankara has been conducting operations to clear southeastern towns of PKK militants since July, when a two-year ceasefire collapsed.

The PKK, which says it is fighting for autonomy for Turkey’s Kurds, is considered a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union. The decades-long conflict has cost more than 40,000 lives.

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