Soldier killed in PKK attack in Turkey’s southeast

MARDİN – Doğan News Agency

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A gendarmerie specialized sergeant was killed in clashes between outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants and Turkish security forces in the Nusaybin district of the southeastern province of Mardin early on May 9.

The gendarmerie specialized sergeant was wounded in the clashes and taken to the Nusaybin State Hospital, where he succumbed to his wounds. 

Security operations in Nusaybin were ongoing and a curfew has been in force in the district since March 14.

The Turkish General Staff on May 9 announced that a total of nine PKK militants were killed during operations ongoing in Nusaybin and in the southeastern province of Şırnak.

The announcement said that seven militants were killed in Nusaybin on May 8, bringing the number of total militants killed in the town to 354 since the operations began.

In Şırnak, on the other hand, two militants were killed during the operations on May 8. 

The governor’s office in the southeastern province of Hakkari, meanwhile, announced on May 9 that some parts of central Hakkari along with parts of its Çukurca district were declared “special security areas” for the following 10 days. 

The office said that as part of the declaration, entering the areas mentioned in the announcement with their coordinates would be banned. In another announcement, the office said a curfew was declared in two villages on the Turkish-Iraqi border.

In addition, a total of 16 outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants were arrested on May 9 after a series of operations on various addresses in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır.

Diyarbakır counter-terrorism police units conducted operations on addresses for eight days after identifying PKK and Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) suspects who reportedly provided logistic support and bomb equipment to militants in rural areas.

A total of 33 suspects were detained in the operations, including one who was reportedly preparing for a sensational assassination plot targeting statesmen in the province.

In addition, one long-barreled weapon, two pistols, two shotguns, 103 bullets and four ammunition clips were also seized during the searches.

The suspects were later referred to court following their proceedings at the security general directorate, as the court ordered the arrest of sixteen, including the suspected would-be assassin.