Three Turkish soldiers killed in PKK attack

Three Turkish soldiers were killed and two others wounded on Sunday in an attack by the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) in southeastern province Sirnak province, Turkish Armed Forces said in a statement.

The PKK members detonated a pre-located explosive device on road when an armoured vehicle was passing during a military operation in the Nur neighbourhood of Cizre town of Sirnak province, Xinhua quoted the statement.

Cizre and Silopi towns have witnessed intense fighting since a round-the-clock curfew was declared in both towns on December 14, forcing many people to flee their hometown.

The PKK negotiated a cease-fire with Ankara in 2013. But the truce fell apart in the wake of a suicide bomb attack in the border town of Suruc in the southeastern province of Sanliurfa on July 20, in which 33 pro-Kurdish and left-wing activists were killed.

Tensions have been running high, especially in southeastern Turkey, as major military operations against PKK militants have been under way since July.