One soldier killed, five wounded in PKK attack in Turkey’s east

ANKARA – Anadolu Agency

One soldier was killed and five others were injured on June 20 in an outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) missile attack in the eastern province of Hakkari, according to the Turkish General Staff.    

PKK militants used rocket launchers and long-barreled weapons to attack a military convoy of the 2nd Border Brigade Command in the Çukurca-Van Highway at approximately 11 p.m., said a source who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media.  

The soldiers were attacked as they were being transported from the Çukurca district in Hakkari to Van, the source added. Captain Murat Üçözün was killed in the attack and the injured soldiers were taken to hospital.

Meanwhile, three PKK militants were “neutralized” in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır on June 20.    

Authorities use the word “neutralized” in their statements to imply the militants in question were either killed, wounded or captured. 

Two of the militants were killed and one of them was captured alive in Diyarbakır’s Lice district, the Diyarbakır Governor’s Office said in a statement.

Several ammunition and weapons were seized in an operation conducted by 7,742 soldiers, police and security forces officers. 

Three AK-47 type Kalashnikovs, one Bixi type machine gun, eight hand grenades, six chargers and several amounts of explosive and life-support materials were seized in shelters used by the PKK in the province.  

The governor’s office also stated that a vehicle with a British license plate, suspected to be used in a possible attack, was also seized. 

On June 19, one Turkish soldier was killed and another was wounded in an attack by the PKK in the southeastern province Diyarbakır.

Two Turkish soldiers were wounded in the clash in Diyarbakır’s Lice district during an ongoing operation to neutralize key PKK leaders and militants in six different districts of the province.

The wounded soldiers were taken to the Selahaddin Eyyübi State Hospital in Diyarbakır, where one succumbed to his injuries.