PKK militants attack commission investigating Elçi’s death for second time

DİYARBAKIR – Anadolu Agency

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Militants of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) attacked a commission investigating the killing of Diyarbakır Bar Association head Tahir Elçi on Nov. 30. The incident marks the second attack on the group investigating the site where Elçi was killed in the southeastern city of Diyarbakır’s Sur district. 

PKK militants attacked the commission - which included Diyarbakır Chief Public Prosecutor Ramazan Solmaz, deputy public prosecutor Gürkan Kütük, attorney generals, crime scene investigators and bar representatives - with long-barreled weapons and hand-made explosives, shortly after they conducted their inspection at the crime scene.

No casualties were reported, though clashes briefly erupted between security forces and militants after the attack.

The commission reportedly left the scene safely.

The attack marks the second time that the commission investigating the killing of Elçi has been targeted, as it was also forced to abandon the site amid armed clashes on the day of the killing. Two policemen were wounded in that attack.

Diyarbakır Bar Association head Elçi was killed on Nov. 28 during an armed conflict that erupted after the killing of two police officers by gunmen in the Sur district.