Eight killed in mine attack on police bus

BİNGÖL - Hürriyet Daily News

The mine, which was detonated by remote control struck a vehicle with civilian plates that was transporting 17 officers. DHA photo

Eight policemen were killed and nine more were wounded yesterday in the eastern province of Bingöl’s Karlıova district in a mine blast that occurred as police vehicles were passing through the area, Doğan news agency reported.

The mine was detonated by remote control by suspected members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The police officers killed in the attack were identified as Gökhan Kuzu, Fatih Celayir, Cuma Mercimek, Samet Kırcalı, Ümit Yıldırım, Murat Toprak, Osman Küçükdilan and Şeyhmus Karakut. One civilian, a teenage girl, was also wounded amid the chaos by a canister shot in the area.

Clashes continued in the area afterwards as security forces sought to locate the militants responsible for the attack.

Turkish President Abdullah Gül and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu condemned the strike and said such attacks would not shake Turkey’s will in its fight with terror. Parliamentary Speaker Cemil Çiçek also said they would not allow the attack to drag Turkey into chaos and terror.

Meanwhile, four Turkish soldiers were killed and five more were wounded Sept. 15 in a suspected PKK attack during the passing of a military convoy, Doğan news agency reported.

Explosives were detonated remotely by suspected PKK members as the military convoy was passing through a village 35 kilometers from the town center of the eastern province of Hakkari at around 2 p.m.

Operations followed the blast, as armored vehicles and helicopters were sent to the area immediately.
Meanwhile, the Hakkari Governor’s Office announced in a written statement that 28 PKK militants were killed in the area yesterday. Some 123 militants have been caught in the area in the last 10 days, the statement also said.

High numbers

At least 30 Turkish security personnel have been killed by PKK militants in the eastern part of Turkey since the beginning of September, while more than 150 PKK militants have also been killed, according to reports. Ten Turkish soldiers were killed and seven were injured in attacks by PKK in the southeastern province of Şırnak on Sept. 2. Some 373 PKK militants have been killed in operations carried out over five months, while 88 Turkish soldiers have also lost their lives in the last nine months, the army was quoted as saying Sept. 9.