Spiraling violence in Turkey

Turkish soldiers were traveling near Karliova in the Bingol district when a roadside bomb exploded and hit the vehicles, Turkey's General Staff said in a statement.

"Three of our soldiers were martyred and six wounded," the army said.

The deadly attack follows on the heels of an attack Friday by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) which has been striking on a near-daily basis since July 25 when the government launched airstrikes on its bases in northern Iraq.

To date, the Turkish military says at least 39 soldiers have been killed in the past weeks. The government says more than 200 militants have been killed, most of them in airstrikes.

The escalation has broken a two-year ceasefire in the three-decade conflict and left the Turkish government's peace process in tatters. Turkey says its attacks are part of a broad attack against the PKK and "Islamic State" in Iraq and Syria. But as the lion's share of attacks have been against Kurdish fighters, there is high suspicion among many Kurds that Ankara is more concerned with defeating its old foe than with cracking down on Islamic State.

PKK's insurrection turns 31

In fact, Saturday marks the 31st anniversary of the start of the conflict in 1984, in which more than 40,000 people - mostly ethnic Kurds - have lost their lives.

That's led to increased tensions and divisions within the country.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has vowed that the fight against the PKK would continue "unabated," adding: "No one should test Turkey's strength, or they will pay a heavy price."

Meanwhile, Turkish authorities carried out new dawn raids to arrest suspected Islamic State and PKK members, with the official Anatolia news agency reporting at least 84 suspects had been arrested across the country.

jar/sgb (AFP, AP, Reuters)