Six soldiers wounded in PKK attack in southeast Turkey

ANKARA

Six Turkish soldiers were injured on March 29 when the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants attacked a military vehicle in southeastern Turkey, security sources told state-run Anadolu Agency.

In the Diyarbakır province, PKK militants targeted a military vehicle near the village of Koçbaba, Hazro with long-barreled weapons and rocket launchers, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on talking to the media.

The injured, including one in critical condition, were taken to nearby hospitals in the district and province, the source said, adding that a security operation in the area is underway.

A soldier succumbed to wounds sustained during Turkey’s ongoing cross-border military operation in the northwestern Syrian district of Afrin, the Turkish General Staff said on March 29.

Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdağ said on March 26 that a total of 3,755 People’s Protection Units (YPG) militants have been “neutralized” since the start of the military operation.

Turkish authorities often use the word “neutralized” in their statements to imply that the militants in question either surrendered or were killed or captured.

Some 49 soldiers were killed and 228 were wounded during the Afrin operation, Bozdağ also said.

Turkey launched “Operation Olive Branch” on Jan. 20 to remove YPG militants from Afrin. On March 18, the Turkish Armed Forces and the Free Syrian Army (FSA) declared full control over the district. They are now carrying out operations to clear mines, IEDs and hideouts in the area.