PKK bombing in southeast Turkey kills mother, infant

HAKKARİ

A roadside bombing by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) killed the wife and baby of a Turkish soldier in the southeastern province of Hakkari, the local governor’s office said July 31.

The bomb exploded when a car carrying the civilians passed through the Yüksekova district, according to Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency.

The mother, Nurcan Karakaya, died on the spot, while her 11-month-old son succumbed to his wounds at the Yüksekova Public Hospital.

An operation to nab the assailants is under way in the region, officials said.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU.

President Erdoğan mulls death penalty

The bodies of the mother and the infant were sent on Aug. 1 to their hometown of Şarkışla in the Central Anatolian province of Sivas.

"I want all the world hear a truth," President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said during the funeral of the victims in Şarkışla. "We once again see how vile this separatist terrorist organization, the murderer of this child and our sister," he said.

Erdoğan also added that he will approve the reinstatement of death penalty if parliament submits such a proposal. He said: "We know how these murderers are. We also know that they will pay a price for this murder. And we will soon take steps on this issue."  

Presidential spokesperson İbrahim Kalın released a message of condolences over the death of the mother and the baby late July 31. 

"God willing, their place is Heaven, while the place of their murderers, both in this world and in the afterlife, will be Hell," he said.

Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has similarly condemned the attack, saying on Aug. 1 on his official Twitter account: “We will hold baby killers to account. We will make life unbearable for them. We will bring down their caves on their own heads.”

Also condemning the attack, main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu said on his official Twitter account: “I curse the PKK terrorist organization, which has blood on its hands, murders the innocent and kills a mother and her baby with a treacherous trap.”

11-months-old Mustafa Bedirhan Karakaya was killed with his mother in the attack targeting their car.