One soldier killed, five wounded in another armed conflict in Turkey’s southeast

DİYARBAKIR

AA photo

One soldier was killed and five members of security forces were wounded yesterday in another outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) attack in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır, the General Staff has stated.

PKK militants staged an armed attack on a gendarmerie post in the Sur district of Diyarbakır at 1.10 p.m. with rocket propelled grenades and long-barreled weapons. 

One specialized sergeant, Fatih Gökşen, was killed and four soldiers, along with a temporary village guard, were wounded. The condition of two of the wounded personnel was reported as critical. 

Meanwhile, Turkish jets carried out airstrikes on suspected PKK targets in the southeastern province of Şırnak, the military said Aug. 11.

“Two F-16 jets targeted two Dochka [anti-aircraft gun] positions belonging to the separatist terror organization,” said the General Staff in a statement on its official website, referring to the PKK.

The operation followed a string of attacks against Turkish security forces on Aug. 10, which killed five police officers and one soldier.

Before the launch of the airstrikes, one police officer was also wounded late on Aug. 11 in attack staged by the PKK in the southeastern province of Mardin, while one PKK militant was captured dead.

PKK militants targeted police officers guarding a government office in the Nusaybin district at around 9:30 p.m. with rocket propelled grenades and long-barreled weapons. Clashes then erupted between security forces and the militants as the police immediately responded to the attack. One police officer was wounded. 

Meanwhile, the Mardin Governor’s Office announced in a written statement yesterday that one PKK militant was captured dead. It also said that two members of a separatist terrorist organization had surrendered to gendarmerie forces from across the border late on Aug. 11 in the Kızıltepe district.

In addition, a car bomb yesterday exploded in the eastern province of Tunceli during the passing of an armored police vehicle, wounding one police officer. Security forces stated that “members of a separatist terrorist organization” set off the explosives in the car, which they had parked in the Ovacık district, while a police vehicle was patrolling in the area.

The Turkish army said in a statement that 20 terrorists had surrendered without any arms or ammunition in the Şırnak, Hakkari and Bingöl provinces, while a senior PKK figure, Barış Tekçe, was killed in clashes in Hakkari. 

The Diyarbakır Police Department said it had captured a possible suicide bomber in the city, allegedly a member of the PKK.