Nine security personnel wounded in clashes in Turkey’s southeast

DİYARBAKIR - Doğan News Agency

DHA Photo

Nine Turkish security personnel, including five policemen and four soldiers, have been wounded in clashes with outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants that erupted after an explosion in southeastern Diyarbakır province. 

PKK militants detonated two improvised explosive devices during an ongoing military operation in Diyarbakır’s Sur district. Clashes erupted between Turkish security forces and the militants following the blasts. 

Reports indicated five special operations police officers and four special forces gendarmes were wounded. 

While all injured personnel were transferred to a hospital for treatment, a police officer who was shot in his chest and a soldier with a shrapnel wound were taken into surgery. Reports indicated none of the injuries were life-threatening.

Meanwhile, a 20-year-old civilian was shot and killed in southern Mersin province during an unauthorized rally against the military-imposed curfews in a number of southeastern towns. 

The victim, identified as Sedat Baran, sustained a fatal gunshot wound of unknown origin in the Gündoğdu neighborhood of Mersin’s Akdeniz district. 

Reports indicated police intervened in the protest with armored vehicles and tear gas as it was organized without prior authorization.

Baran’s body was brought to the Mersin State Hospital’s morgue unit.