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4 Turkish soldiers wounded in PKK attack

Xinhua, April 11, 2015 Adjust font size:

Four Turkish soldiers were wounded in an attack by the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) militants in Agri province of eastern Turkey on Saturday, the Turkish military said in a statement.

A group of PKK militants opened fire on the Turkish soldiers early Saturday as they were moving to Yukaritutek village near Diyadin district of Agri upon intelligence that the group will organize an event named "Spring Festival," said the statement.

According to the intelligence, the PKK was planning to put pressure on citizens in the festival to vote for the candidates affiliated with the group in the upcoming parliament elections, the statement said.

"The army promptly responded to the attack, but four military personnel were injured," the statement said.

The clashes came three weeks after the jailed leader of the PKK Abdullah Ocalan called on his followers to hold a congress "to end decades-long armed struggle" with Turkey, a move as part of a peace process involving negotiations between the government and Ocalan.

The country will hold the general elections on June 7. The PKK-affiliated Peoples' Democratic Party aims to come over 10 percent election threshold so as to get at least 50 seats in the parliament. Endit