Two Turkish soldiers killed in alleged Kurdish rebel attack

A Turkish military vehicle was bombed, killing two soldiers, in an attack blamed on the Kurdistan Workers Party, security sources said on Tuesday.

MENA

1 min read

The New Arab & agencies

01 August, 2017

Turkish authorities have blamed the attack on Kurdish militants [Getty]

A Turkish military vehicle was bombed in southeast Diyarbakir province, killing two soldiers, security sources said on Tuesday.

Turkish authorites blamed the attack on militants of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

They said ground and air operations were under way to hunt down the militants.

Separately, security sources said three PKK militants were killed in the southeastern province of Tunceli after being identified by a drone.

Turkey's largely Kurdish southeast has been rocked by violence following the collapse of a two-and-a-half year ceasefire between the state and the PKK in 2015, with more than 600 Turkish security force members killed.

The autonomy-seeking PKK took up arms in 1984, and more than 40,000 people have died in the conflict.

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

A recent US decision to deliver weapons to the Kurdish Peoples' Protection Units (YPG) has provoked anger in Turkey, which views it as the Syrian wing of the PKK.

Turkey fears that weapons delivered to Syrian fighters could end up in the hands of the PKK and be turned on Turkish targets.