Soldier, village guard martyred in eastern Turkey

By Sinan Uslu

ANKARA (AA) – One soldier and a village guard were martyred in a bomb blast in Turkey’s eastern province of Van, the military said on Sunday.

In a statement, the Turkish General Staff said 10 soldiers were also injured – one critically – alongside five village guards in a PKK attack at 00.20 a.m. local time (0920GMT).

The attack targeted Pay gendarmerie station in the Ercis district of Van, the military said.

Tension is high in southeastern Turkey since the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by the U.S. and the EU – resumed its 30-year armed campaign in July 2015.

Since then, nearly 600 security personnel, including troops, police officers and village guards have been martyred and more than 5,000 PKK terrorists killed in operations across Turkey and northern Iraq.