PKK attack in Turkey’s southeast kills one security personnel, injures three

ŞIRNAK – Doğan News Agency

DHA photo

A soldier has been killed while another soldier and two village guards have been injured in gunfire by outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants in Turkey’s southeastern province of Şırnak, the Turkish General Staff has said.

“A soldier was killed, one other soldier and two village guards were injured in gunfire by militants of the separatist terrorist organization, during a military operation on Oct. 12,” the general staff said in a written statement late Oct. 12. The “separatist terrorist organization” is a phrase the general staff frequently uses to refer to the outlawed PKK.

The injured personnel were immediately taken to the Şırnak Public Hospital following the incident, the general staff added, with all three reported to be in good condition.

Village guard Cumaeddin Yorulmaz, 49, meanwhile, who was injured in clashes with PKK militants in Silvan, a district in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır, succumbed to his injuries late Oct. 12 in a public hospital in the southeastern province of Batman where he was receiving treatment, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.  

The burial ceremony for Yorulmaz was held in Batman’s Kozluk district. Among those who attended the ceremony were Batman Governor Azmi Çelik, Batman Commander of the Garrison Brigadier Fatih Güney and Batman Police Department head Necati Denizci.

Yorulmaz was injured when clashes erupted after PKK militants attempted to stop a passenger bus carrying village guards in Silvan’s Çatakköprü area on Oct. 8.

In a separate anti-terror police operation in the eastern province of Van, 99 hand grenades, nine anti-tank landmines, 99 fuses and 76 shells along with a pistol were seized during the search of a car stopped in Van’s Çaldıran district, the Van Police Department said in a written statement.

Noting that a large amount of explosives were seized in the operation, the police department said three people, identified by the initials M.T., F.H. and İ.Ç., were arrested over the incident.