ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey's military says Kurdish rebels have detonated an improvised explosive device as a military vehicle passed by, wounding 17 soldiers.

A military statement said the attack occurred Monday near the town of Yusekova, in the mainly Kurdish province of Hakkari.

The statement said the soldiers were quickly evacuated and hospitalized. Four of them were in serious condition.

The Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, has waged a three-decade long insurgency in southeast Turkey. Tens of thousands were killed in the conflict.

Violence flared again in 2015 after the collapse of a two-year peace process.

The group is considered a terrorist group by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union.