ANKARA, May 28 (Xinhua) -- Six soldiers of the Turkish security forces were killed Thursday in a landmine blast in eastern Turkey, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported.

    The landmine, planted by the militants of the banned Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK), exploded when Turkish soldiers searched at Kavsak village in Cukurce town of Hakkari province, leaving six soldiers killed.

    The security forces conduct frequent operations against PKK militants in eastern and southeastern Turkey.

    The PKK took up arms in 1984 to create an ethnic homeland in southeastern Turkey. Some 40,000 people have been killed in the over two-decade conflict.

    Turkey's military forces have taken tougher actions against the PKK after the country's legislature extended the government's mandate to launch cross-border operations against the rebels in northern Iraq.