2 soldiers succumb to wounds in SE Turkey

By Sinan Uslu

ANKARA (AA) - Two Turkish soldiers succumbed to their injuries Sunday after being shot during an anti-terrorist operation against the PKK group in southeastern Turkey, the military said.

The Turkish General Staff said in a statement that the soldiers were severely wounded during an armed attack by "separatist terrorist organization members" in the Lice district of southeastern Diyarbakir province; they later died in a hospital at 9.45 local time (0645GMT).

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

Since then, nearly 600 security personnel, including troops, police officers, and village guards, have been martyred, and more than 7,700 PKK terrorists neutralized in operations across Turkey and northern Iraq.

*Anadolu Agency Correspondent Diyar Guldogan contributed to this report from Ankara.