Armored car saves Turkish soldiers from massive blast

DİYARBAKIR / MARDİN - Doğan News Agency (DHA)

A damaged 'Kirpi' armored vehicle stands on the road between Diyarbakır and Mardin after a land mine attack on Aug 9, 2012. DHA photo

Suspected members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) remotely detonated a powerful explosive device targeting a military vehicle in the southeastern province of Mardin yesterday.
 
PKK members blocked the road between Mardin and Diyarbakır near Akrecde Pass, stopping cars to check IDs of drivers and explain the aims of the organization. Some of the PKK members later fled the scene.
 
A military unit was dispatched to Akrecde Pass after the incident was reported. The road block was revealed to be a trap for the coming soldiers as PKK militants remotely detonated a device consisting of more than 80 kilograms of explosives as the military vehicle drove by.
 
Reports said a possible disaster was averted due to the fact that the soldiers were traveling in a mine-resistant armored vehicle known as a "Kirpi" (Hedgehog). One soldier was injured in the blast but was later reported to be in good condition. 
 
An operation was launched to apprehend the attackers.
 
Police station attacked
 
A police station in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır also came under attack yesterday night after an assailant that was allegedly hiding among children opened fire.
 
A group of children were staging a demonstration roughly 100 meters away from Şehitlik police station in central Diyarbakır at around 8:40 p.m. yesterday. Several police officers came outside to disperse the children who wanted to set off fireworks. An assailant of around 25 years of age, who was hiding among the children, opened fire at the police station with an AK-47 assault rifle at that instant, precipitating a firefight. 
 
The assailant fled after firing 19 bullets at the station and the police officers outside. Special police forces in tactical gear surrounded a neighborhood where the attacker fled and launched an operation, going from home to home. 
 
The PKK is recognized as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.