24 Turkish security personnel killed in one month as PKK intensifies attacks

ŞIRNAK

22-year-old Salih Hüseyin Parça, who was killed in last night's PKK attack in Şırnak, had started to serve as a police officer two weeks ago.

A Turkish police officer was killed in an attack on an armored police vehicle in southeastern Şırnak province late Aug. 7, increasing the death toll in attacks launched by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to 24 for the past month.

A police team used tear gas to disperse a protest in Şırnak’s Cizre district and ambushed by PKK militants who also used rocket launchers, Doğan News Agency reported, quoting security sources. 22-year-old Salih Hüseyin Parça, who started to serve in the police force two weeks ago, was killed in his armored vehicle while three of his colleagues were injured.

The killing came hours after five people including a Turkish soldier died and several others were injured in clashes in Şırnak’s Silopi district and and in the eastern province of Ağrı.

According to data compiled by state-run Anadolu Agency, police officer Parça was the 24th security personnel who was killed in Turkey due to a PKK attack since July 7.

At least 11 civilians, including an Iranian national, were also killed in such attacks, while 101 people, including three Iranians were injured during the same period between July 7 and August 7.
      
The data does not include casualties from the recent suspected Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) attack in eastern Suruç town that left at least 32 civilians dead.

During this period, more than 100 vehicles were also allegedly set ablaze by the PKK.

Turkish army continues to hit PKK
      
Meanwhile, Turkish Armed Forces have continued to target PKK’s position in and outside the country. In operations conducted until August 1, more than 260 suspected PKK militants, including alleged senior members were killed and over 400 other suspects were detained, according to Turkish officials.
      
Also, Turkish police have launched nationwide operations against other outlawed organizations, including the PKK, ISIL and the far-left Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C) as well as the Patriotic Revolutionist Youth Movement (YDG-H) linked to the PKK.

Since July 24, around 1,600 suspects were detained and of those, 314 were put behind bars.

Turkish prisons have a total of 6,121 convicts and inmates accused of being members of terrorist organizations. There are 3,788 convicts and 783 prisoners from the PKK, whereas 195 convicts and 58 prisoners from the PKK-affiliated the Kurdish Communities Union (KCK). Of those, the prisons have 213 convicts and 58 prisoners from the DHKP-C.
      
Last 24 hours

A number of suspected PKK members were killed when an explosive they were trying to plant on the eastern Hakkari-Çukurca Highway exploded prematurely late Aug. 6, according to Anadolu Agency.
      
In the southeastern province of Mardin, suspected PKK supporters attacked police; however, there was no casualty in the incident.

A suspected PKK member surrendered to security forces in Şırnak, while a group of PKK members harassed the district governorate, security department and gendarme building in Şırnak’s Uludere district.
         
Police officers detained seven people in an operation against the YDG-H group in southeastern Batman province; three others were also held in the capital Ankara.
      
Suspected PKK members planted a mine in eastern province of Muş, which exploded when the Tatvan-Elazig train was passing by. Three wagons were damaged in the attack.

Seven people were detained in southeastern Diyarbakır province when pro-PKK and pro-KCK supporters blocked traffic to hold a demonstration.