News / Turkey

Four Turkish soldiers killed in clashes with PKK

Friday, 04 March 2016 2:13 AM [ Last Update: Friday, 04 March 2016 2:15 AM ]

Members of a Turkish army honor guard carry the coffin of officer Enes Demir killed while fighting PKK militants in the Sur district of Diyarbakir Province, southeastern Turkey, in the capital, Ankara, on February 21, 2016. ©AP

At least four Turkish soldiers have been killed and one injured during separate clean-up operations against Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants in Turkey’s volatile southeastern provinces of Diyarbakir and Mardin.

The Turkish General Staff announced in a statement that an offensive was carried out in the Sur district of Diyarbakir, situated 676 kilometers (420 miles) east of the capital, Ankara, on Thursday afternoon.

The statement added that two Turkish army troopers sustained gunshot wounds as a result and were transferred to a local hospital, where one of them succumbed to his injuries later on.

Earlier in the day, three soldiers lost their lives and eight PKK terrorists were killed during a firefight in the Dargecit district of Mardin Province.

The Turkish army said in a separate statement that a large amount of weapons and munitions were seized following the exchange of gunfire.

In this photo taken on February 3, 2016, a family leaves the Sur district in Diyarbakir Province, southeastern Turkey. ©AP

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

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

After the bombing, the PKK militants, who accuse the government in Ankara of supporting Daesh, engaged in a series of attacks against Turkish police and security forces, prompting the Turkish military operations.

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