As a result of the blast of a hand-made explosive during the passage of a military vehicle in the district of Gercüş, southeastern Batman, 4 Turkish soldiers were killed and five others were injured reported officials on Thursday.  

"During the operations carried out in the Gercüş district of our province, 4 soldiers were martyred and 5 soldiers were wounded as a result of the hand-made explosive attack during the passage of our armored military vehicle," said Batman Governor Office in a statement.

Following the announcement, a large-scale operation was initiated in order to capture PKK members who fled in the region. (ILKHA)