Terror attack in SE Turkey: 4 martyred, 8 injured

By Halil Ibrahim Sincar, Osman Oksuz and Adnan Kochan

MARDIN, Turkey

Four soldiers were martyred and eight others, including six soldiers and two village guards, were injured Monday in a bomb attack on a highway in Turkey's southeastern Mardin province, according to a military source.

PKK terrorists had detonated explosives as a military vehicle carrying soldiers and village guards passed by the Kiziltepe - Derik Highway, the source, who cannot be named due to security concerns, said.

Two of the four martyred soldiers had succumbed to their injuries at the Derik State Hospital, the source said.

An operation to nab the assailants remains underway.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and EU and resumed its 30-year armed campaign against the Turkish state in July 2015.

Since then, PKK terrorist attacks martyred more than 600 security personnel and also claimed the lives of many civilians, including women and children, while more than 7,000 PKK terrorists have been killed in army operations.