UPDATE - 2 soldiers martyred in PKK clash in SE Turkey

UPDATES WITH INFORMATION ON INJURED TROOPS, DETAILS OF PKK CASUALTIES PLUS WEAPONS AND AMMUNITION SEIZURES

By Nevzat Tas and Mumin Altas

ANKARA and HAKKARI, Turkey (AA) – Two soldiers were martyred in fresh clashes with the PKK terrorist organization in Turkey's southeastern Hakkari province, the city governorship said on Monday.

The gunfight which followed an attack by PKK terrorists at around 2.37 a.m. [1137GMT Sunday] also left five other soldiers wounded, the statement said. The injured troops were hospitalized; one was in a serious condition.

Attack helicopters have been sent to the region, and the operation is ongoing, the statement added.

Gendarmerie special forces supported by air power and artillery units had been conducting a military operation against PKK terrorists in Hakkari’s Cukurca district.

-Anti-terror operation

Meanwhile, security sources said on Monday at least 157 terrorists were “neutralized” during the ongoing operation against the PKK in Cukurca.

The sources, speaking on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media, said Turkish security forces had made a number of finds as part of the ongoing Martyr Health Staff Sergeant Mekan Sahin operation.

These included two Dochka (anti-aircraft) guns, seven Kalashnikov rifles, 17 hand grenades, four rockets, anti-tank mines as well as bomb-making material, gas masks and ammunition.

During Monday’s operation, other equipment -- including electricity generators, batteries and medical supplies -- was seized, according to an anonymous source.

The sources added that two air operations were carried out by the Turkish Air Force in the rural area of Cukurca, destroying six targets.

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

Since then, more than 600 security personnel have been martyred and over 7,000 PKK terrorists killed.