Turkish soldier martyred during attempt to diffuse bomb

By Nigmet Kosarhan and Zafer Tayfur

HAKKARI, Turkey

A PKK roadside bomb martyred a Turkish soldier in Turkey’s southeastern province of Hakkari on Sunday, wounding three others, a security official said.

Security forces were attempting to defuse the bomb on a highway 30 kilometers (19 miles) outside the provincial capital when it was detonated by remote control, the official said on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media.

The casualties were taken to Hakkari State Hospital and an operation was launched to track the terrorists.

Meanwhile, two PKK terrorists surrendered to security forces in the Baskale district of neighboring Van province.

The same source said they escaped the PKK and surrendered at the gendarme district station.

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 when more than 600 security personnel have been martyred and around 7,000 PKK terrorists killed.