DIYARBAKIR, Turkey

A member of the “village guard” was martyred and another wounded in an attack by PKK terrorists in southeast Turkey late Monday, a security source said.

Their patrol was fired at from a car in the Silvan district of Diyarbakir province, the source said on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

The wounded guard was taken to hospital and an operation was launched to catch the suspects.

The village guard is a militia that operates alongside the police and army to combat the PKK in Turkey’s southeast.

The PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and EU -- resumed its decades-old armed campaign in July last year. Since then, more than 300 civilians and nearly 800 security personnel have been martyred. Around 8,000 PKK terrorists have been killed or apprehended.

Reporting by Yusuf Bati;Writing by Can Erozden