11 customs officials and a driver missing in Turkey's eastern province of Van for the last two days have been kidnapped by the PKK terrorists, said the Turkish military on Sunday through its official website.
The customs officials were carrying out their duties at the Kapıköy border gate between Turkey and Iran.
11 customs officers working at the border gate with Iran and a driver went missing as they were returning home from work in the eastern province of Van on Friday afternoon, authorities said on Saturday.
The Turkish military Sunday annouced on its website that the missing customs officers were kidnapped by the PKK terrorists. The agencies later on in the day reported that one of the customs officers named Gülcan Aydın Temel and the driver were released by the PKK terrorists.
A search has been underway for the last two days to find the kidnapped customs officers.
Meanwhile, a Turkish soldier was killed and three others were injured in an attack by PKK terrorists in southeastern Diyarbakır province, security sources said on Sunday.
Soldiers were guarding the construction site of a hydroelectric dam in Diyarbakir's Kulp district when they came under rocket and gun attack, the sources added.
The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by the European Union and the United States, has been involved in a bloody campaign under the pretext of Kurdish self-rule in southeastern Turkey since 1980s, which saw tens of thousands of civilians, Turkish soldiers and policemen killed in the conflict. The group largely ceased its activities after the government launched the reconciliation process to end the PKK's campaign of terror two years ago.
The Turkish Air Force has been carrying airstrikes against the PKK in northern Iraq and the ISIS militants in northern Syria.
240 PKK terrorists have so far surrendered to Turkish Armed Forces since July 24.
Meanwhile, the Turkish Armed Forces have neutralized 812 terrorists since the military operations which started on July 22.
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