2 soldiers killed in PKK bomb attack in southeastern Turkey

Two Turkish soldiers were killed and six others wounded in a bomb attack by the militants of the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) in southeastern Turkey on Tuesday, said a military statement.

The bomb, planted by the PKK militants in Sirnak province bordering northern Iraq, exploded when the Turkish troops and police were launching the military operation, leaving six Turkish soldiers and two policemen wounded, said the statement released by the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces.

The wounded were taken to hospital for medical treatment, but two seriously wounded soldiers died, added the statement.

A two-year cease-fire between the government and the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) collapsed in July last year.

Turkish security forces have launched a major campaign against the group in the southeast of the country.

More than 300 members of Turkish security forces and thousands of PKK members have been killed since last July in confrontations inside Turkey and in northern Iraq.

Ankara accused the PKK of waging a separatist war since 1984. The group is listed as terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

Source: XINHUA