Militants kidnap three Chinese workers in southeastern Turkey
ŞIRNAK – Anadolu Agency
A highway is set on fire by PKK militants near Varto in the eastern Muş province.
Militants of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) abducted three Chinese workers in the southeastern province of Şırnak late Aug. 24.The Chinese citizens were employed at a thermal plant located in the Silopi district. Militants staged an attack against the plant with rocket-propelled grenades and long barreled rifles late Aug. 24, before abducting the Chinese workers while they were buying food at a grocery store.
A security guard was also injured during the attack. Security forces have launched an operation to find the whereabouts of the abducted workers.
PKK militants attack Dağlıca post: Military
Meanwhile in a separate incident, PKK militants attacked a military border post in the southeastern province of Hakkari on Aug. 22, the General Staff said in a statement on Aug. 24.
The military said in its statement that soldiers and support teams in the region fired back after the PKK militants fired mortar shells. No injuries were reported.
The PKK had attacked the main Dağlıca base in 2007, killing 12 soldiers and capturing eight.
The military also said two PKK militants had surrendered in Hakkari and Bingöl.
Meanwhile, another group of PKK militants have set fire to a container and working equipment on the Zilan river in the eastern province of Van, in protest at the construction of a nearby hydroelectric power plant. The construction field was set on fire two months ago and two workers were abducted by the militants, before later being released.
The recent tension and the killing of one soldier in a PKK ambush near the Iranian border in Van late on Aug. 20 came after clashes in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır over a controversial statue of Mahsun Korkmaz, one of the PKK’s founders. The clashes over the Korkmaz statue left one soldier and one demonstrator dead, and came amid a fresh government push to open direct talks with the PKK’s leadership.
The incident came as the government unveiled plans to further boost peace negotiations by launching direct talks with senior PKK leaders at the Kandil Mountains in Northern Iraq.
