 The number of murders committed by Village Guards from 1985 to 1996 is put at 296 by official estimates.Contrary to the newest estimate, earlier figures by the Turkish military put the number of PKK casualties much higher, with 26,128 PKK dead by June 2007, and 29,704 by March 2009.Between the start of the second insurgency in 2004, and March 2009, 2,462 PKK militants were claimed killed.