Turkish security forces destroyed a bomb-laden vehicle and killed the two PKK terrorists inside in eastern Van province on Monday when the terrorists were traveling to the city center to carry out an attack, the governorate said.

According to a statement released by the governorate, the gendarmerie forces carried out an operation after receiving intelligence that the terrorists were planning a bomb attack in the city center.

The car was destroyed with the militants inside in the Gürpınar district of the province, the statement said.

More than 1,200 people, including security personnel and civilians, have lost their lives since the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and EU -- resumed its decades-old armed campaign in July 2015.