ANKARA
At least three Turkish soldiers have been killed in an attack on a team of troops in the southeast of the country.
The Turkish General Staff said on Thursday that the “atrocious” attack happened in Sirnak province, blaming the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) terrorist group for the deaths.
"One officer and two privates fell as martyrs at around 9.10 a.m. [0610 GMT] local time on Thursday as PKK terrorists attacked a team of security forces assigned to safeguard the passage of a convoy carrying military personnel of the Gormec and Seslice bases of the 6th Motorized Infantry Brigade Command of the Land Forces," said a statement from the office of the General Staff.
The statement added that drones, gunships and commandos were immediately dispatched to the area and killed one armed PKK terrorist.
"The operation to catch the terrorists is underway," added the statement.
Another military convoy came under attack in eastern Elazig province on Wednesday, according to the provincial governor’s office, but no casualties were reported.
"IEDs, thought to have been planted by PKK terrorists, were detonated during the passage of the convoy but there was no loss of life or property," the office said.
Turkey’s military and police have been hit by a number of attacks over the past week following the Daesh-linked suicide bombing in Suruc, Sanliurfa province that killed 32 people on July 20.
Since then, Turkish security forces have arrested hundreds of people with suspected links to Daesh, the PKK, and leftist groups, detaining over 1,300 people across the country, according to a statement on Wednesday from the Prime Minister's Office.
Turkey has also launched airstrikes against Daesh and PKK positions in Syria and Iraq.
The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by the U.S., the EU and Turkey.
