PKK terrorists martyr 5 soldiers in SE Turkey

By Mesut Varol and Yilmaz Kazandioglu

HAKKARI, Turkey (AA) - Five soldiers were martyred and six were injured by PKK terrorists in the southeastern Turkish province of Hakkari on Saturday, said military sources.

The soldiers were on duty in the Semdinli district when a clash broke out with PKK terrorists, said the sources, speaking on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking with the media.

The injured soldiers were taken to Hakkari State Hospital by ambulance.

Security forces launched an operation in the area.

Separately, a construction worker injured by terrorists late last month succumbed to death earlier in the day in a hospital in the eastern province of Van.

Unal Katirci was shot by PKK terrorists at a construction site in Yuksekova, Hakkari on Aug. 26.

The PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and EU – resumed its decades-old armed campaign in July last year. Since then, more than 600 security personnel have been martyred and more than 7,000 PKK terrorists killed.

*Can Erozden contributed to this story from Ankara.