Turkish Soldier Dies of Wounds after Attack in Southeast

A Turkish soldier who was shot by masked men has died of his wounds, the army said on Thursday, the latest killing of a member of the security forces in the Kurdish-majority southeast of the country.

Non-commissioned officer Nejdet Aydogdu was shopping with his wife in Turkey's biggest Kurdish-populated city of Diyarbakir Wednesday afternoon when he was fired at by two masked gunmen at close range.

He died in hospital of his wounds despite efforts to save his life. "We strongly condemn this savage, treacherous and despicable attack," the army said.

According to the Hurriyet newspaper, he was 25.

The army did not say who committed the attack, but it comes amid an upsurge of militant activity by the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

The army has said a simular attack at the weekend which killed three soldiers in Yuksekova in the mainly Kurdish Hakkari province was carried out by the PKK.

That attack was also committed by masked gunmen in a busy street at a similar afternoon time.

The PKK has waged a three-decade insurgency for self-rule and greater rights in southeast Turkey but has largely observed a ceasefire since March 2013 amid a fragile peace process.

But there has been an increase in militant violence in the southeast following deadly protests earlier this month against the government's handling of efforts to counter jihadists across the border in Syria.

The PKK's armed wing this week issued a statement denying responsibility for the Yuksekova attack and some analysts believe the group may be split over its strategy in the peace process.