By Aziz Aslan and Muhyeddin Beyca

BATMAN, Turkey

Residents of Batman in southeastern Turkey organized a march Friday to condemn a PKK terrorist attack in the province that martyred eight Turkish soldiers.

A number of Turkish non-governmental organizations organized the protest, with participants chanting slogans like “Turks, Kurds are brothers” and “Hell to PKK.”

The protestors carried a 100-meter-long (328-foot-long) Turkish flag during the march.

Eight Turkish soldiers were martyred and two others wounded Thursday in a PKK terrorist attack in Batman, according to local sources.

The terrorists detonated an improvised explosive as an armored military vehicle passed by.

In a statement, the Batman Governor’s Office said four soldiers were martyred and five others were wounded in the rural area of Gercus district.

Later, four soldiers succumbed to their wounds at the Batman Regional State Hospital, said a health officer, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

One wounded soldiers were undergoing treatment, the source added.

An operation was launched in the area to nab the terrorists.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of some 40,000 people, including women and children.