PKK militants block road, set trucks ablaze in Turkey’s southeast

The militants destroyed nine large trucks, one smaller one and another one belonging to the state’s waterworks body, Bitlis Governor Ahmet Çınar said, as reported by the agency. 

The militants in the area fled after security forces launched an operation, which was still underway, he added.  
Eight people were detained for lending support to the militants, who used civilians as “live shields” during the attacks, the governor said. 

A 21-year-old student at Onyedi Eylül Universitiy in the northwestern Turkish town of Bandırma was detained after sharing a photo of himself dancing with the PKK militants in Bitlis, according to the governor. The school will also launch a probe, he added. 

Separately, one PKK militant was killed on the outskirts of the Çukurca district in the southeastern province of Hakkari during a clash with the military, the agency reported. 

Five soldiers were wounded in the clash in the early hours of Aug. 31, it said. 

The clash erupted when a group of militants fired rifles at soldiers en route to an operation. 

The Turkish Air Force hit six PKK targets in Çukurca on Aug. 31, the military said in a statement. 

Turkey also carried out air operations against PKK targets in the Gara region of northern Iraq, Reuters quoted a military source as saying.