DIYARBAKIR - Six Turkish soldiers were killed and 10 others wounded in southeastern Turkey Thursday in a landmine explosion blamed on Kurdish terrorists, security sources said.
The explosion occurred about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the border with Iraq, during a security sweep against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers` Party (PKK) in Sirnak province, the sources said.
The initial toll of five dead and nine wounded rose after two more injured soldiers were brought to hospital and one of them later died, they said.
More than 37,000 people have died since the PKK, considered a terrorist organisation by Turkey and much of the international community, took up arms for self-rule in the country`s mainly Kurdish southeast.
Ankara says thousands of PKK terrorists have found refuge in the north of neighbouring Iraq, where they obtain weapons and explosives for crossborder attacks into Turkey.
The army said last month it had launched large-scale operations in the southeast against the PKK at the start of spring, when the thaw makes it easier for terrorists to infiltrate across the frontier.
05/24/2007 10:48 GMT