Mine blast kills 1 sergeant in northeast Turkey

A Turkish sergeant killed in mine blast in northeast province of Kars, Turkey, security sources said Saturday.

"A group of members of the terrorist organization" sat vehicles on fire at Kagizman-Igdir-Erzurum highway in Karakurt-Denizgolu district, security sources said, referring to the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK.

A mine went off as soldiers combed the area which resulted in the death of the sergeant.

Turkey's military and police have been hit by a number of attacks over the past week, which resulted in the deaths of around 20 police officers and soldiers. The violence was touched off by a Daesh-linked suicide bombing in eastern Sanliurfa province that killed 32 people on July 20.

Security forces have detained more than 1,300 suspected supporters of groups such as Daesh and PKK -- recognized as terrorist groups by Turkey, the EU and the U.S. -- as well as launching airstrikes in Daesh in Syria and the PKK in Turkey and northern Iraq in a recent wave of anti-terror operations.