Two soldiers killed in armed terrorist attack in southeastern Turkey

The attack is suspected to be the work of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has recently been targeting Turkish soldiers and police officers in the Southeast.

Spec. Sgt. Yahya Karakaya (27) and Spec. Sgt. Murat Kozanoğlu (25) were killed in the armed attack, which took place on Nedim Zeydan Street in the Yüksekova district of Hakkari, as they left their homes for work. The two were initially injured and immediately hospitalized, but doctors were unable to save them.  A large-scale operation was launched after the attack.

In a separate incident in Ankara, an explosion took place along the Eskişehir Highway as a military vehicle passed by on Tuesday. No casualties were initially reported. Police teams and ambulances were dispatched to the area.

An investigation was launched into the incident. The attack follows another over the weekend in which one soldier died and another was injured in the eastern province of Bingöl when members of the PKK attacked a vehicle transporting construction materials to a military post.

The attacks come in spite of a recent statement by jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, delivered through his lawyers, in which he said he has decided to prolong a unilateral cease-fire his group had declared last summer. The PKK refers to its cease-fire as a “non-attack” decision. Öcalan's lawyers also said he believes the continuation of the cease-fire will contribute to a democratic solution to the Kurdish issue.