Three Turkish soldiers were killed when a bomb planted by terrorists went off near the country’s border with Syria, the National Defense Ministry said on Saturday, according to Anadolu Agency.

The ministry said in a statement that the soldiers were “martyred in the southeastern Sanliurfa province’s border district of Akcakale due to a blast from an improvised explosive device (IED).”

Some 12 PKK/YPG terrorists were later neutralized by Turkish forces in the Akcakale area where the Turkish soldiers were killed, the ministry said on Twitter.

Operations in the region against terror elements are ongoing, it added.

Source: Azerbaijan State News Agency