20 PKK militants killed in operations: Turkish General Staff

ANKARA – Doğan News Agency

The Turkish General Staff announced on April 10 that 20 outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants had been killed during counter-terror operations in southeast Turkey. 

The announcement said seven PKK militants were killed in the southeastern province of Mardin’s Nusaybin district, along with six in the southeastern province of Hakkari’s Yüksekova district and seven in the southeastern province of Şırnak. 

Meanwhile, one police officer and one civilian were killed on April 9 in an attack in Mardin’s Derik district, as PKK militants parked a bomb-laden car in front of police lodgings and opened harassing fire on the buildings at around 9 p.m.

Police immediately responded to the fire, after which the militants detonated the bomb-laden car. Security forces have begun an operation to apprehend the PKK militants responsible for the attack.

Elsewhere on April 9, PKK militants set a school on fire in the Kurubaş neighborhood of the eastern province of Van, after entering the building by breaking through a window.

Kinyas Kartal Elementary and Middle School was set on fire with explosives and flammable materials by PKK militants, who fled the scene after the attack. The fire caused heavy damage to the ground floor of the school as well as the teachers’ and administrator’s room, while its electrical facility and computers were completely destroyed. 

Van Director of Education Kıyasettin Kırtekin said the damage from the attack totaled some 200,000 Turkish Liras, adding classes at the school would be suspended for four days for repair work.

The police have begun an investigation to catch the suspects, as Kırtekin said there were surveillance cameras inside the building.