55 security personnel, 771 terrorists killed in one month: Report

ISTANBUL

DHA Photo

As many as 55 Turkish security personnel have been killed in terrorist attacks across Turkey over the past month, while the security forces have killed 771 militants from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in operations within the country and in northern Iraq, state-run Anadolu Agency reported on Aug. 21.

Turkey has been struck by an upsurge in violence against security forces and civilians in the east and southeast in particular, with armed offensives and bomb attacks conducted by the outlawed organization leaving scores of deaths and injuries.

A 19-year-old young man, Ali Akpınar, was killed after unknown assailants with their faces masked detonated a hand-made bomb in the southeastern province of Mardin on Aug. 19. Akpınar was injured when the explosion occurred in Mardin’s Artuklu district and he was rushed to the Mardin Public Hospital, but be could not be saved. 

In the Nusaybin district of Mardin, three people were injured after PKK militants carried out a bomb attack on a bridge linking two neighborhoods at around 8 p.m. on Aug. 20. Several holes were seen on the bridge, and homes, workplaces and vehicles around the bridge were severely damaged after the blast.

In Istanbul, two gunmen opened fire at the Kıraç Police Station in the Esenyurt district of the city with long-barreled weapons at around 6:40 a.m. on Aug. 21. No casualties were reported. 

Witnesses in Esenyurt said they first heard a single gunshot followed by series of shots. They said a short clash broke out between police and the assailants as the police responded with fire. Two assailants ran away and were reported to be still at large.

In the eastern province of Şırnak, gunmen opened fire with long-barreled weapons at police forces in the Uludere district on Aug. 21. The police discovered two hand-made apparatus full of explosives in a subsequent search of the Karaçalı area, where the attack took place.

Meanwhile, seven PKK militants reportedly surrendered to the authorities, bringing the number of militants from the group who have surrendered to 854 since March 21, 2013, the Şırnak Governor’s Office said in a written statement.

In the southeastern province of Hakkari, five PKK members who had previously placed an explosive on a road in Hakkari’s Kamışlı village were killed in an operation in the Yüksekova distirct.

In Hakkari’s Şemdinli district, terrorists set fire to caterpillar trucks used in road construction in the Yaylapınar and Konur villages at around 11:30 p.m. on Aug. 20. The road construction was halted because of the attack.

In the southeastern province of Diyarbakır, two militants were arrested in anti-terror operations against both the PKK and the PKK-linked outlawed Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) in the Lice district.

Two long-barreled weapons, four empty shells, two masks, a pair of gloves, a pair of shoes and several other items were seized in the operation.

In a separate operation in Diyarbakır’s Ergani district, seven suspects were detained in an anti-PKK raid and one unregistered rifle was seized.