Two Turkish soldiers have been killed in a roadside bomb explosion that targeted a military vehicle in southeastern Turkey, security sources say.
The Dogan news agency citing security sources said that the casualties were caused after the vehicle struck an improvised explosive device in the Kurdish-dominated southeastern province of Sirnak near the Iraqi border, on Tuesday.
This comes a day after one Turkish soldier was killed and three police officers were injured in clashes with militants of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) near security outposts in the town of Nazimiye in Tunceli province early on Monday.
The developments come at a time when Turkey is still reeling from a deadly bomb blast that targeted a wedding ceremony on August 20, killing more than 50 people in the city of Gaziantep.
The attack was described as the deadliest in a series of bombings in Turkey this year blamed on the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group.
Turkey has been suffering from bombings and clashes with the PKK since July 2015, when the government declared an end to years of efforts for reconciling with the militants.
A shaky ceasefire between Ankara and the PKK that had stood since 2013 was declared null and void by the militants following the Turkish strikes against the group.
The Turkish army has also been conducting ground operations as well as airstrikes against PKK positions in the troubled southeastern border region as well as Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region over the past months.
According to the latest toll provided by the state-run Anadolu news agency in July, more than 600 Turkish security forces and over 7,000 PKK militants have been killed since the collapse of the truce. Rights campaigners and Turkey’s pro-Kurdish political parties challenge the figure, saying many civilians have been killed.