Two soldiers killed in landmine blast in southeastern Turkey
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-10-14 18:33
ANKARA- Two Turkish soldiers were killed and
another injured after stepping on a landmine planted by the outlawed Kurdish
Workers' Party (PKK) during an operation in the southeastern province of Hakkari
on Saturday, the semi-official news agency Anatolia reported.
Lieutenant
Omer Azak and private Mahmut Elci died after stepping on a landmine planted by
the PKK, a statement by the local governor's office was quoted as saying.
Private Suleyman Sanverdi was wounded in the explosion, while operation
was underway in the region, said the statement.
The PKK recently
declared a unilateral ceasefire with Ankara as of October 1, saying that it
wants to pave the way for a resolution of the conflict through dialogue.
The PKK, which was listed as a terrorist organization by the United
States and the European Union, has been fighting for an ethnic homeland in the
mainly Kurdish southeastern Turkey since 1984 in a conflict that has claimed
more than 30,000 lives.
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