A Turkish soldier was killed in southeastern Turkey on Wednesday by gunfire from an area in northern Syria controlled by a Kurdish militia, Agence France-Presse reported, citing the state-run Anadolu news agency.
The soldier was shot in the abdomen while driving a patrol vehicle near the border in Turkey’s Mardin province, Anadolu said, adding that he succumbed to his injuries in the hospital.
After being hit, the driver lost control of the vehicle and the three other passengers — also soldiers — were slightly injured in the accident.
Mardin is located across the border from an area in northern Syria where Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) are present.
Ankara views the YPG as an offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has been waging a deadly war against the Turkish state since 1984.
