UPDATE - 6 soldiers hurt in SE Turkey PKK attacks

UPDATES WITH 3 PKK TERRORISTS NEUTRALIZED

By Yilmaz Kazandioglu and Nevzat Tas

HAKKARI, Turkey (AA) - Six soldiers were injured in two separate attacks carried out by PKK terrorists in southeastern Turkey on Sunday, according to a military source.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to media, said PKK terrorists had attacked security forces with mortar shells in the Cukurca district of Hakkari province, injuring five soldiers.

In a separate attack in the same district, PKK terrorists detonated a roadside bomb and injured another soldier.

The injured soldiers were rushed to the Hakkari State Hospital.

An operation was later launched in the region to nab the terrorists.

Meanwhile, the regional governor’s office said on Sunday three PKK terrorists had been neutralized during a security operation in southeastern Turkey’s Hakkari province Saturday.

According to the statement, the targets in hilly Daglica and Cukurca districts of the province were hit by an armed drone.

Turkish authorities often use the word "neutralized" in their statements to imply either the terrorist was killed or captured.

During the operation, security forces also seized improvised explosives, weapons, ammunition and narcotics.

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, PKK terrorist attacks martyred more than 700 security personnel and also claimed the lives of many civilians, including women and children, while nearly 8,000 PKK terrorists were killed in army operations.

Erdogan on Sunday said the PKK had so far killed 787 security personnel and 312 civilians as well as injuring over 4,000 security forces and more than 2,000 civilians since July 20, 2015.