3 soldiers, guard martyred in Turkey's Bitlis province

By Sener Toktas

BITLIS, Turkey (AA) – At least four people were martyred and seven others wounded Thursday in two PKK terrorist attacks in eastern Turkey’s Bitlis province, a security source said.

Among those martyred in Hizan district are three soldiers and a village guard, the source told Anadolu Agency on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

In the first incident, three soldiers were martyred and six soldiers were wounded when a bomb hit a military vehicle, the source added.

Separately, a village guard was shot dead and another soldier injured in the Nazar neighborhood.

The injured were taken to a nearby hospital.

An operation, backed by helicopters, targeting PKK terrorists continues in the province, it added.

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

* Ahmet Sait Akcay contributed to this story from Ankara.