Six Turkish soldiers killed in rocket attack

Six Turkish soldiers were killed on Monday following a rocket attack on a naval base in the south of the country. Authorities have blamed Kurdish separatist rebels for targeting the military vehicle in the city of Iskenderun.

AFP

Seven soldiers were also injured, with three of them said to be in a critical condition in a military hospital in Ankara.

Provincial governor Mehmet Celalettin Lekesiz suggested the attack was carried out by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

Five members of Turkey’s security forces were also killed in clashes with Kurdish rebels on Saturday.

The attacks come as the PKK’s leader Abdullah Ocalan reportedly said he is abandoning efforts to seek dialogue with the Turkish government.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist group by Turkey and a number of other countries, took up arms in 1984 to seek autonomy for the Kurdish community in the south-east of the country. Around 45,000 people have been killed as a result of the ongoing conflict.