Three martyred in PKK attacks in SE Turkey

By Hasan Namli, Yilmaz Ekinci, Ibrahim Torlak and Zekeriya Gunes

DIYARBAKIR/SIIRT, Turkey

Three security personnel were martyred Thursday in two separate PKK attacks in southeastern Turkey, according to security sources.

Two soldiers were martyred and two others wounded when terrorists detonated a previously-planted explosive device in Hani district of Diyarbakir province, a local security source said.

In another incident in Siirt province, a village guard was martyred when terrorists opened fire on the security forces during an operation in Mava Mountain area, another local source said.

Operations have been launched to nab the terrorists, the sources added. Both sources spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media.

Earlier on Thursday, a soldier was martyred in a PKK bomb attack in eastern Bingol province, while another was martyred in a mortar attack by PKK terrorists on a military base in Cukurca, southeastern Hakkari province.

One other soldier was seriously injured and hospitalized after stepping on a mine during an ongoing anti-terror operation in Cukurca.

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

Since then, PKK terrorist attacks have martyred more than 700 security personnel and also claimed the lives of many civilians, including women and children, while more than 8,000 PKK terrorists were killed in military operations.