Soldier martyred in PKK operation in southeast Turkey

ANKARA

At least one soldier was martyred during an ongoing operation against the terrorist PKK organization in southeastern Turkey, according to the military on Thursday.

The Turkish General Staff said in a statement that the soldier, who was heavily wounded in an attack in the central district of Sur in Diyarbakir province, died in hospital on Thursday morning.

Turkey's southeast has been the scene of significant military operations since December, and a curfew was declared in the town on Tuesday.

The PKK – designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU – renewed its armed campaign against the Turkish state in late July 2015.

Since then more than 280 members of the security forces have been martyred and thousands of PKK terrorists killed in operations across Turkey and northern Iraq.