2 Soldiers martyred, 10 PKK terrorists killed in SE Turkey

ANKARA

Two Turkish soldiers were martyred and 10 PKK terrorists were killed in four separate counter-terrorism operations in two southeast Turkish provinces since Wednesday, the Turkish military and unnamed security sources said Thursday.

Two Turkish soldiers were critically wounded in clashes with PKK terrorists Thursday and later succumbed to injuries at the hospital, local security sources said.

According to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking with the media, the soldiers died in Sirnak province’s Gazipasa and Cumhuriyet neighborhoods.

Also in Sirnak province, six PKK terrorists were killed in clashes Wednesday, which increased the total number of terrorists killed in the area to 813 since operations there began, the Turkish General Staff said in a statement posted on its official website Thursday.

Four PKK terrorists were also killed in Mardin province’s Nusaybin district, increasing the number of terrorists killed in the area to 674, the statement said.

Turkey’s southeast has been the scene of significant military operations since late 2015, as the police and army seek to clear PKK terrorists from urban areas.

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