12 PKK militants, police officer killed in raid in eastern Turkey

VAN – Doğan News Agency

AA Photo

One police officer and 12 suspected militants of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) have been killed following a police raid on a house in the eastern province of Van’s Edremit district.

Police special forces raided a two-story house at around 5 a.m. on Jan. 10, following a tip off that the people in the house were planning a large-scale attack in Van, authorities said.

Twelve suspected PKK militants in the house, along with an officer identified as Önder Ertaş, were killed in the raid, which also injured two other officers, Van Gov. İbrahim Taşyapan said, adding that the security forces seized weapons and ammunition in the house.

Gov. Taşyapan arranged an emergency meeting with senior officials from the Van Police Department, the Van bureau of the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) and several other security bodies in the eastern province following the raid.

A total of 307 PKK militants have been killed in anti-terror operations in southeastern Turkey since Dec. 15, 2015, the Turkish General Staff said on Jan. 9, adding that 18 were killed on Jan. 8 in the southeastern provinces Diyarbakır and Şırnak where some districts have been under curfew for weeks.

Two of those killed on Jan. 8 were in Diyarbakır’s historical Sur district, which has been under curfew since Dec. 2, 2015. Ongoing operations have left 70 militants dead in the district so far, according to official statements.

Elsewhere in Diyarbakır, two children were severely wounded after they found an improvised explosive device in a graveyard in the central Kayapınar district on Jan. 9.

The two, identified as Ferit K., 14, and his brother Mustafa K., 11, were injured after the device exploded. The two were taken to Dicle University Medical School Hospital for treatment and were reported to be in serious condition.