Soldier, village guard killed in Turkey amid violence

A soldier and a village guard were killed in a landmine explosion in southern Turkey on Tuesday, amid escalating violence between government forces and the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK), private Dogan News Agency reported.

Another Turkish soldier and a village guard were wounded during a road security check in Sirnak province in southeastern Turkey, according to the report.

Earlier on Monday, two Turkish soldiers were injured in another landmine explosion triggered by PKK members in the southeastern Diyarbakir province, said the report.

Also on Monday, the PKK members opened fire at a military hospital in the eastern province of Bitlis, with no casualties reported.

Violence has flared in Turkey for the past two weeks, shattering a fragile peace process launched in 2012 between the government and the Kurdish movement.

The Turkish military has recently launched airstrikes on PKK positions in northern Iraq, as police detained hundreds of PKK members as part of an anti-terror offensive following the group claimed responsibility for killing two police officers.

The PKK, which has thus far claimed the lives of more than 40,000 people, is blacklisted as a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.