Big Şemdinli operation is still on, says minister

HAKKARİ - Doğan News Agency

A major military operation against the PKK has been continuing in Hakkari. DHA photo

A serious military operation is currently underway in the southeastern province of Hakkari’s Şemdinli district against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Deputy Prime Minister Beşir Atalay has said, adding that the relevant security departments would soon be making the necessary explanations.

“As you know, a serious and strong operation is continuing in the region. Our security forces will be making announcements,” Atalay said yesterday.

Meanwhile, the Hakkari Governor’s Office issued a written statement regarding the operation, saying that a number of PKK members had been neutralized in the area.

“On July 23, PKK members blocked the road between the Şemdinli and Derecik districts, aiming to place mines on the road in order to attack Turkish military personnel. An operation was launched right away to block the operations that the organization had planned. So far, a number of PKK members have been neutralized,” the statement read.

Explosive blast
In a separate development, a remote-controlled explosive blast took place on Aug. 2 in Hakkari, as a police vehicle was passing by on the road. There were no reports of deaths or injuries, although the armored police vehicle was damaged. The incident took place at 12:20 a.m. in the Tekser neighborhood, which is on the Hakkari-Van highway. The police vehicle was heading to Depin, which is seven kilometers away from the city center.