Security forces disarm explosives left by PKK in school yard

DİYARBAKIR

Turkish security forces disarmed improvised explosives left by outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants in the garden of an elementary school in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır on Oct. 3, state-run Anadolu Agency has reported.

The incident occurred at the Şair Cahin Sıtkı Tarancı Elementary School in the province’s Dicle neighborhood in the Yenişehir district. Students at the school notified the school management after noticing the explosives.

Afterward, forces from the provincial security directorate were dispatched to the scene, where extensive safety measures were taken.

After conducting an analysis, the teams disarmed the explosives and security forces launched an operation in the region to capture the militants responsible.

Meanwhile, one soldier was killed in an armed assault by PKK militants in Diyarbakır’s Silvan district early on Oct. 3.

The militants are reported to have opened fire from a vehicle on the specialized sergeant, who was getting out of his own private car at the time.

The militants fled the scene of the incident, while 21-year-old Mehmet Kızıl was taken to the nearby Dr. Yusuf Azizoğlu public hospital. Following an initial treatment, Kızıl was transferred to another hospital in the center of Diyarbakır, where he succumbed to his injuries.

An operation in the region was launched to find the militants who staged the attack.

The military have notified Kızıl’s parents, who live in the Central Anatolian province of Karaman, of their son’s death, and the killed soldier’s funeral ceremony will take place in his home town of Güneyyurt.