Six Turkish soldiers killed in PKK attack

A Kurdish militant attack on a military base in southern Turkey killed six security force members, security sources said.

MENA

1 min read

The New Arab & agencies

30 March, 2018

Turkish army vehicle near the Syrian border

PKK militants attacked a military base in Turkey's southeast [Getty]

Six Turkish security force members were killed near a military base in southeast Turkey after a Kurdish attack, security sources said on Friday.

Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants staged an attack in the Eruh district of Siirt and that those killed were from a village guard militia which supports the Turkish military.

It was not clear when the attack occurred. State-run Anadolu news agency said four soldiers and three village guards were also wounded in the attack, which occurred in an area where road construction work was being carried out.

The PKK is designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict between the Turkish state and the PKK, which launched a separatist insurgency in 1984. The conflict intensified after a ceasefire collapsed in 2015.

Earlier this month, Turkey captured the northern Syrian town of Afrin after a two-month Operation Olive Branch offensive against the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, which Ankara views as an extension of the PKK.