Gas pipeline explosion injures 28 Turkish soldiers

A report says at least 28 Turkish soldiers were injured after suspected members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) blew up a section of a pipeline carrying natural gas from Iran to Turkey. The attack was carried out near Eleskirt town in the eastern province of Agri at around 10:30 p.m. local time (1930 GMT) on Thursday, Turkish-language Hurriyet newspaper reported. Agri governor Mehmet Tekinarslan said the explosion occurred as a military vehicle was passing. He added that the injured have been shifted to Eleskirt State Hospital to receive medical treatment. Over the past months, the PKK has claimed responsibility for repeated attacks on gas pipelines in Turkey. Earlier this month, the gas flow on a pipeline carrying Iranian natural gas to Turkey was halted due to an explosion in eastern Turkey. It resumed a week later. The PKK has been fighting for an autonomous Kurdish region inside Turkey since the 1980s.