SIIRT, Turkey

 A police officer has been martyred in Turkey’s southeastern province of Siirt during a counter-terrorism operation against the PKK on Friday.

According to security sources, police squads extended their operation to an address in Ulus.

During clashes, a police officer was injured and later died at Siirt State Hospital. Three other injured policemen are still receiving treatment.

Five PKK terrorists were killed during the operation.

The PKK – designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU – renewed its armed campaign against the Turkish state in the aftermath of a July 20, 2015 suicide bombing in the southern Turkish town of Suruc that killed more than 30 people.

In response, the Turkish government has been conducting an extensive counter-terrorism effort, bombing PKK camps inside Turkey and in northern Iraq while also striking the Daesh terrorist group in Syria.