A land mine explosion near Turkey's border with Iraq has killed six soldiers and wounded eight others, an official said Thursday.
Gov. Muammer Turker said the soldiers died late Wednesday when their vehicle struck a land mine, believed to have been planted by Kurdish rebels, on a road in Hakkari province.
There was no information on the wounded soldiers' condition. The state-run Anatolia news agency said the attack prompted Turkey's military to launch an operation in the region against the rebel group.
Rebels of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, have been fighting for self-rule in Turkey's southeast since 1984. The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people.
Meanwhile, police on Thursday detained around 30 people in a crackdown on suspected rebel supporters in five Turkish cities, Anatolia reported. Those detained included several teachers, the report said.