PKK attack kills captain, village guard in Turkey’s southeast

ŞIRNAK/ANKARA

One captain and one village guard were killed in an attack by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the southeastern province of Şırnak late on Oct. 1.

PKK militants attacked soldiers and village guards with long-barreled weapons on a road close to Şırnak’s Cizre district, killing Captain Mustafa Erdal, 33, and village guard Dündar Page, 32.

Four other village guards were wounded in the incident and were taken to hospitals in central Şırnak and Cizre.

A security operation with aerial support was launched in the area to apprehend the militants responsible of the attack.

Funeral ceremonies were held for Erdal and Page at the 23rd Gendarmerie Border Division Command on Oct. 2.

Many high-level figures attended the ceremony including Şırnak Governor Mehmet Aktaş, Second Army Commander Gen. İsmail Metin Temel, Şırnak Deputy Mayor Turan Bedirhanoğlu and Police Chief Ömer Uslusoy.

Erdal’s body was sent to the capital Ankara after being taken to the Şerafettin Elçi Airport with a helicopter, while Page’s body was sent to Cizre with an ambulance.

Elsewhere, the Turkish Armed Forces hit PKK targets in operations in the Zap region of northern Iraq.

According to a statement released by the army, Turkish jets carried out airstrikes against PKK targets on Oct. 1 and destroyed weapon launching pits, shelters and weapons and ammunition depots.

A total of 14 PKK militants were also killed in a separate aerial operation on Sept. 29 carried out in the Kandil region of northern Iraq, where PKK headquarters are based, according to the military.

Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry has announced that a total of 68 PKK militants were “neutralized” over the past week.

The authorities use the word “neutralized” to refer to militants who are killed, wounded or captured.

The ministry on Oct. 2 said 49 militants were killed, four were apprehended alive, and 15 surrendered to the security forces between Sept. 25 and Oct. 2.

Some 2,095 anti-terror operations were carried out in the aforementioned time period and a total of 1,202 people were detained over being suspected members of the PKK, outlawed leftist groups, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ).

The number of detentions totaled 5,559 when the number of those apprehended over drug charges, smuggling, and struggle against irregular migration are included.

In addition, some 47 shelters and caves, as well as 23 home-made explosives and mines, belonging to the PKK were destroyed during security operations carried out in Şırnak and in the southeastern provinces of Diyarbakır, Hakkari and Mardin.