UPDATE 3 - 2 soldiers martyred in PKK attack in SE Turkey

UPDATES DEATH TOLL OF TERRORISTS

By Ekrem Payan and Sinan Uslu

SIRNAK/ANKARA (AA) - Two soldiers were martyred in a PKK terrorist attack in southeastern Sirnak province on Friday, according to the provincial governor's office late Friday.

According to a statement released by the Sirnak Governor's Office, seven terrorists were killed in the ongoing operation in Uludere.

The office said earlier that at least three PKK terrorists were killed on Friday in Bestler-Dereler. With the operation in Uludere, the number of terrorists killed in ongoing counterterrorism operations in the region had gone up to 36 since Wednesday.

Separately, two terrorists were killed during an operation in Cukurca district of neighboring Hakkari province on Thursday, according to a statement issued on Friday by the Turkish General Staff.

One more terrorist was killed in a separate operation in eastern Bitlis province, the military said, adding four PKK terrorists had surrendered to security forces in Sirnak.

Turkish fighter jets also struck some shelters, caves and weapon emplacements belonging to the PKK terrorists in northern Iraq's Avasin-Basyan region on Thursday, the military added.

More than 1,200 people, including security force personnel and civilians, have lost their lives since the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU -- resumed its decades-old armed campaign in July 2015.