Seven soldiers, policeman killed in PKK attacks in Turkey's southeast

Seven soldiers and a policeman have been killed while one soldier was heavily wounded in two different attacks by militants of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in the southeastern provinces of Diyarbak?r and ??rnak. 

Six soldiers were killed and a soldier was heavily wounded as a military convoy returning from a search for mines on the Diyarbak?r-Lice highway was targeted by the PKK early Feb. 18, less than a day after an attack, alleged by the government to have been carried out by the People's Protection Units (YPG), claimed the lives of 28 in the nation's capital.

An improvised explosive device (IED) previously installed by the PKK was detonated at 9:40 a.m. on Feb. 18 during the passage of a military convoy, a written statement by the Turkish Armed Forces announced. 

"Six of our heroic comrades-in-arms were martyred while one was heavily wounded," it said, explaining that the wounded soldier was currently being treated at Diyarbak?r Military Hospital. 

The highway was closed to traffic and searched for additional explosives after the blast. Scores of soldiers were also dispatched to the scene of the incident in order to apprehend the perpetrators of the attack. 

An initial investigation revealed that almost a ton of ammonium-enriched explosives were used in the making of the IED. The device was placed on the road with a 350-meter cable. 

Meanwhile, a second attack claimed the lives of two security officials, a soldier and a police officer, in the ?dil district of the southeastern province of ??rnak. 

The two men were heavily wounded in an armed attack by PKK militants during a recently launched operation in the district, the Turkish General Staff stated. Accordingly, both officials...