At least one killed in two attacks targeting Turkish military on Syria border
MARDİN
Two armed attacks have hit Turkey's military outposts near its border with Syria, Turkish media reported on Oct. 9.One person has been killed in a clash between a group and security forces after the funeral of two men, who were among the over 20 people who have died during the recent wave of violent protests that swept Turkey, according to Doğan News Agency.
The incident took place in the Dargeçit district of the southeastern province of Mardin on Oct. 9, as mourners returned from the funeral of 29-year-old Bilal Gezer and 18-year-old Sinan Toprak. A group had thrown home-made explosives at the local gendarmerie headquarters and pelted the building with stones.
Soldiers first fired in the air as a warning, before targeting the attackers as the building also came under gunfire from surrounding buildings, according to the statement of Mardin Governorate.
A 27-year-old man, identified as Abdülkerim Seyhan, died in the Midyat District State Hospital, while 10 people, including Dargeçit Deputy Mayor Sinan Akan, were taken to hopital with injuries. The authorities have launched an investigation into the incidents.
In the second attack, a Turkish military outpost came under fire from both sides of the border with Syria, leading to at least five casualties, according to CNNTürk. The incident reportedly happened in the Nusaybin district of Mardin province on Oct. 9.
Abdullah Öcalan, the jailed leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), had called for an acceleration of the Kurdish peace process following deadly recent clashes stemming from protests against the jihadist assault on the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobane, while warning of "provocations and massacres," Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş has said.
