Locals ‘save’ soldier from PKK militants in Turkey’s southeast

ANKARA – Anadolu Agency

A specialized sergeant was reportedly saved from outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants in the southeastern province of Şırnak with the efforts of locals nearby.

The unnamed soldier, along with his children, had taken his ill wife to a hospital and was returning home. While on his way, the soldier and his family faced four PKK militants who intercepted the car in a central square.

The soldier first attempted to draw his gun but refrained, considering his family’s safety. The wife of the soldier vowed to “die together if they needed to” and resisted the militants as they pulled her husband out of the car. The children, however, watched the events unfold inside the car.

Meanwhile, locals who were watching the events nearby intervened to protect the soldier and his family from the militants. A group of citizens then began to resist the armed militants as they fired a gun into the air in an attempt to scare the locals. Taking advantage of the chaos created by the gunfire, the locals successfully moved the soldier and his family away from the square with a car.

In response, the militants opened fire on the car from behind, slightly injuring the soldier. The locals also moved the militants away from the scene in defiance of their arms.

Security and gendarmerie forces arrived at the scene in the aftermath of the incident and a wide-scale operation has been launched to apprehend the fleeing militants responsible for the incident.