News / Turkey

Roadside blast leaves 2 soldiers dead in eastern Turkey

Tuesday, 22 December 2015 5:32 AM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 22 December 2015 8:07 AM ]

Turkish soldiers wait at a checkpoint in Diyarbakir, Turkey, on July 26, 2015. ©AFP

At least two Turkish soldiers have reportedly been killed and six others sustained injuries in a bomb explosion in the eastern province of Bitlis.

The incident happened on Monday when a military vehicle hit a roadside bomb in the rural area of the Olek village in Bitlis.

Local sources have blamed militants from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) for the attack.

Two other Turkish soldiers were wounded in clashes with PKK militants in the Sur district of the southeastern city of Diyarbakir, Kurdish media reported.

Also on Saturday, a Turkish soldier succumbed to the wounds sustained during clashes with PKK militants in the volatile southeastern province of Sirnak.

The Turkish military said it has killed 115 PKK militants since mid-December in the country’s southeastern restive regions.

The army launched an operation on December 16 in the towns of Cizre and Silopi in Sirnak Province as well as a volatile neighborhood in Diyarbakir, the largest city in the region, to push supporters of the PKK from urban areas.

Ankara has been engaged in a large-scale campaign against the PKK in its southern border region in the recent past. The Turkish military has also been conducting offensives against PKK positions in northern Iraq.

The operations began in the wake of a deadly July 20 bombing in the southern Turkish town of Suruc. More than 30 people died in the attack, which the Turkish government blamed on the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group.

PKK militants accused the Ankara government of supporting Daesh, launching a series of attacks against Turkish police and security forces, which prompted Turkey's military operations.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk