Ankara, May 31: Six soldiers were killed overnight when armed militants fired rockets on a Navy base in the southern Turkish city of Iskenderun, Anatolia news agency reported.
Seven soldiers were also wounded in the attack that targeted a military vehicle carrying troops for the changing of the guard, the report said.
Three of them were in a critical condition and were taken to a military hospital in the capital Ankara.
It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack that took place around 4:00 am (0100 GMT). Anatolia and other media reports described the assailants as “terrorists”.
Authorities deployed additional police and troops in the area after the attack and a security operation was underway, media reports said.
Turkey is home to several home-grown outlawed groups, including the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) which is behind a 25-year armed campaign for self-rule in Turkey’s mainly Kurdish southeast.
The rebels, who have stepped up their attacks against security forces in recent weeks, has in the past been active in the country’s south.
—-Agencies