6 soldiers martyred by roadside bomb in Turkey

ISTANBUL

Six Turkish soldiers were martyred Tuesday in a roadside bomb attack in Turkey’s southeastern Van province, the Turkish general staff said.

According the statement, two other soldiers were wounded in the same attack by PKK terrorists at 5 p.m. local time [14:00GMT] in Van's Caldiran district.

Local sources talked to Anadolu Agency, saying that the commander of the district gendarmerie, Major Kivanc Cesur, was martyred in the incident.

In another region, Turkish forces killed three terrorists in Sirnak’s Silopi district after they failed to stop at a security checkpoint and opened fire along the Silopi-Cizre road, a source said.

According to the unnamed source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media, after the shootout, security forces seized guns and ammunition from the car.

Moreover, 26 PKK terrorists surrendered to security forces in Turkey’s southeastern province of Mardin’s Nusaybin district Tuesday.

The source also said that more terrorists would surrender to security forces thanks to the ongoing Hawk-7 Operation, meant to fill in PKK-made trenches, lift barricades, destroy homemade explosives, and re-establish public order in the region.

The counter-terrorism operation in Nusaybin has been ongoing since March 14.

Turkey’s southeast has been the scene of significant military operations since December 2015 as the police and army seek to clear the PKK terrorist organization from urban areas.

The PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization also by the U.S., and the EU -- resumed its 30-year armed campaign against the Turkish state in July 2015.

Since then, more than 480 members of the security forces, including troops, police officers, and village guards, have been martyred, and over 4,900 PKK terrorists killed in operations across Turkey and northern Iraq.