One policeman, five civilians killed in PKK attack in southeastern Turkey
DİYARBAKIR
AA Photo
Six people, including three children and a police officer, were killed late Jan. 13 when a car bomb exploded near a district police post in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır, officials have said.A 5-month-old baby, a 1-year-old toddler and a 5-year-old child were among those killed in the attack. Thirty-three people, including six police officers, were injured in the attack allegedly carried out by members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the Çınar district at around 11:30 p.m., the Diyarbakır Governor’s Office said. The six people killed in the attack were identified as police officer Mehmet Şenol Çiftçi; his 5-month-old daughter Mevlüde İrem Çiftçi; Esra Köse Başaran, the wife of a police officer; Lokman Açıkgöz; his 5-year-old son, Sadık Efe Açıkgöz, and his 1-year-old daughter, Ecrin Açıkgöz.
Police detained two suspects in connection with the attack.
According to reports, PKK militants staged an attack against the police headquarters and the adjacent police dorms by detonating a car laden with explosives. The outlawed group simultaneously started a gun fight with long-barreled weapons and rocket launchers, leading to clashes as police returned fire. Clashes continued for some 40 minutes. While the police headquarters and dorms suffered from substantial damage, a nearby two-story house collapsed with the power of the explosion.
Thirty-nine people, including women and children, were wounded in the attack. The relatives of two police officers who were staying in the dormitory, in addition to three civilians who were trapped in the wreckage of the nearby house lost their lives, the Diyarbakır Governor’s Office said in a statement.
“Two police relatives residing in the dormitories were killed, while some 14 people, including six policemen and six police relatives were wounded,” the statement said, explaining the damage caused to the dorm’s residents.
“Moreover, a building near the dormitory also collapsed during the explosion, where three of our citizens were killed and five injured citizens were rescued from the wreckage,” it added.
Some 20 citizens residing in buildings around the dorm suffered injuries from the attack, the governor’s office said, adding that all wounded persons were transferred to Diyarbakır Military Hospital, Diyarbakır State Hospital or Dicle University Medical Faculty Hospital. Officials say a search for the attackers is under way.
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmuş shared a post on his official Twitter account, condemning the terror attack. Calling the attack “treacherous,” Kurtulmuş extended his condolences to the victims’ families.
Meanwhile, PKK militants attacked eight schools and one dormitory in the İdil district of the southeastern province of Şırnak on Jan. 14. The militants used a sound bomb, fireworks and Molotov cocktails in their attacks. Students and teachers were in school when the militants attempted to set the building on fire. Only three of the attacked schools were still providing education.