By Sena Guler
ANKARA (AA) – A Turkish soldier has succumbed to wounds he sustained during an anti-terror operation in northern Iraq, Turkey's National Defense Ministry said on Sunday.
The ministry said in a statement that Infantry Specialist Sergeant Samet Seker was injured when he stepped on an improvised explosive during Operation Pence-Yildirim and was taken to the hospital.
The soldier could not be saved despite all the efforts of medical staff, it added.
National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar conveyed his condolences in a message to Seker's family and the Turkish nation.
Turkey launched Operations Pence-Simsek and Pence-Yildirim on April 23 in northern Iraq's Metina and Avasin-Basyan regions.
The PKK terror group often hides out in northern Iraq, just across Turkey's southern border, to plot terror attacks in Turkey.
In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK — listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US, and the EU — has been responsible for the deaths of at least 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.
