Turkish soldier martyred in PKK mortar attack

HAKKARI, Turkey (AA) – One soldier was martyred and another injured in a terrorist PKK mortar attack in the southeastern border province of Hakkari on Sunday, a military source said.

The mortar shell, reportedly fired from the Iraqi side of the border, targeted security forces conducting anti-PKK operations in mountainous areas in the district of Cukurca, and left one soldier dead and another wounded, said the source, who asked not be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

Following the attack, five terrorists were killed in air-backed operation by Turkish security forces, he added.

The PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and the EU – resumed its decades-old armed campaign in July 2015.

Since then, PKK terrorist attacks martyred more than 700 security personnel and also claimed the lives of many civilians, including women and children, while nearly 8,000 PKK terrorists were killed in army operations.