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Soldier dies in 2-hour gun battle with militants in Turkey

Türkiye Materials 7 August 2015 23:16 (UTC +04:00)
A Turkish sergeant and an Iranian national have been killed in an attack being linked to Kurdish militants in eastern Turkey.
Soldier dies in 2-hour gun battle with militants in Turkey

A Turkish sergeant and an Iranian national have been killed in an attack being linked to Kurdish militants in eastern Turkey, Anadolu Agency reported.

"Members of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party [PKK] blocked the highway linking Agri's Dogubayazit and Van's Caldiran towns in the Somkaya area near Cetenli village at around 11.30 am [0830GMT], after which they set fire to three 18-wheelers and two trucks," said a Friday statement from the Agri Governor's office.

The authorities claim that the attackers then opened fire on an Iranian passenger bus driving past, killing one person and wounding three others.

The injured were taken to a hospital in Dogubayazit.

Security forces were dispatched to the area following the attack, and a Turkish sergeant was killed when militants opened fire on troops, the statement added.

An operation has been launched to find the assailants who fled after a gunfight that lasted around two hours.

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