Turkey: 2 soldiers martyred, 2 injured in PKK attacks

SIRNAK/MARDIN, Turkey

Two soldiers were martyred and two others were wounded in two separate PKK terrorist attacks in eastern Turkey, according to local authorities on Thursday.

In the first incident, a soldier was martyred and another was injured when PKK terrorists detonated an explosive while a military convoy passed by the Beytussebap-Sirnak highway in southeastern Sirnak province, Sirnak Governor’s Office said on Thursday.

The wounded soldier was taken to the Sirnak State Hospital. Later, an operation backed by aerial support was also launched in the area.

Also, two PKK militants were killed when explosives they held exploded prematurely before they could attempt an attack on police officers in Sirnak province, security sources said.

Separately, local authorities said that a soldier was martyred and another was wounded in a clash with PKK terrorists in southeastern Mardin province, local government sources said.

The incident took place in the province's Nusaybin and Midyat districts. The wounded were taken to the Mardin State Hospital, where one of the soldiers succumbed to his wounds.

Meanwhile, a new curfew was announced in Nusaybin district, the governor’s office said.

In a statement, the office said that the curfew would begin 7 p.m., local time (0400GMT) in four neighborhoods of Nusaybin district because of security concerns.

Renewed violence in Turkey has come in the wake of the July 20 Suruc bombing that killed dozens of people; the attack was blamed on Daesh. The subsequent PKK-linked murder of two Turkish police officers at their home sparked a new wave of conflict.

The fighting has seen the collapse of a fragile cease-fire which began early 2013 and was dubbed the “solution process”.

Founded in the late 1978, PKK is considered a terrorist organization by Turkey, the EU and the U.S.