Turkish soldier hurt in PKK blast dies in hospital

By Gazi Nogay

CORUM, Turkey (AA) - A Turkish soldier seriously wounded in a landmine blast earlier this month in southeastern Turkey, lost his life in hospital on Thursday.

Martyred gendarmerie specialist sergeant Mustafa Unal had been hurt on May 9 in the Semdinli district of southeastern Hakkari province by a device left by PKK terrorists.

Unal had been receiving treatment at the Gulhane Training and Research Hospital in the Turkish capital Ankara.

His body will be taken to his hometown in the Ortakoy district of Turkey's central province of Corum for burial.

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

Since then, PKK terrorist attacks have martyred more than 600 security personnel and also claimed the lives of numerous civilians, including women and children, while more than 7,000 PKK terrorists have been killed in army operations.