27 PKK militants killed in operations in Turkey’s Hakkari

HAKKARİ

AA photo

A total of 27 militants from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) were killed in operations in the Çukurca district of the southeastern province of Hakkari on Sept. 2, the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) has announced, as fierce clashes with militants continue in southeastern provinces.

The military said in a statement that 27 PKK militants were killed in operations in Çukurca while another 30 were captured.

Meanwhile, the Hakkari Governor’s Office also announced that five heavy machine weapons belonging to the militants were seized in operations.

According to the governor’s office, one soldier was also wounded during the operations.

Earlier on Sept. 2, one soldier was killed and another six were wounded in clashes that erupted during an operation targeting PKK militants in the district.

The clashes occurred while Turkish armed forces were conducting an aerial-supported operation against militants in the area. 

Infantry Specialized Sgt. Kadir Çelebi was killed in operations against the PKK militants in the district while another six were wounded.

Meanwhile, the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) announced that it conducted three separate air operations in rural Çukurca on Sept. 2.

One PKK militant was killed while five heavy machine weapon positions and two caves used by the militants were destroyed, the military stated.

Earlier, the military had announced that warplanes hit two PKK targets in an air operation conducted between 9.30 p.m. and 9.48 p.m. on Sept. 1 in rural Çukurca.

In addition, four security personnel were killed and another 18 were wounded in clashes with PKK militants in the Çaldıran district of Van on Sept. 1.

Gendarmerie specialized Sgt. Murat Kasım and village guard İhsan Taş were killed and four village guards were initially wounded in clashes near the Tendürek Mountain region.

However, two more village guards Mehmet Aladağ and Muzaffer Aladağ were later killed in clashes, bringing the total death toll in operations to four on Sept. 2.

In a separate attack, one soldier was slightly injured when PKK militants detonated an explosive during the passing of a military vehicle near the Silvan district of the southeastern province of Diyarbakır.

Meanwhile, three PKK militants were killed during security forces operations in the southeastern province of Şırnak on Sept. 2, Doğan News Agency has reported.

Gendarmerie special operation forces conducted an operation called “Doğan 2016” in the Kemerli, Herino and Odabaşı regions of Mount Cudi.

Three PKK militants were killed in operations while explosives and ammunition were seized in sanctuaries and caves used by the militants.

Among the seized equipment were two M-16 infantry riffles, five loaded clips, one sharpshooter weapons and six clips, one pair of binoculars, 211 rounds of RPG ammunition, one anti-tank mine, anti-tank rocket launcher ammunition, six rounds of PKM79 rocket ammunition, one push set-up mine, a copy of the book “Strategic Depth” written by former Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, two hand grenades, one gun, as well as food and living supplies.