Six soldiers killed in PKK attacks in Turkey’s southeast

MARDİN – Doğan News Agency

AA photo

Six soldiers were killed on June 24 in two separate outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) attacks in the Çukurca district of the southeastern province of Hakkari and the Derik district of the southeastern province of Mardin.

The Turkish General Staff announced that PKK militants detonated a hand-made explosive placed on the Hakkari-Çukurca motorway, killing four soldiers.

Gendarmerie Specialized Sgt. Ali Danyar, Gendarmerie NCO Mustafa Gevrek, Specialized Sgt. Karun Koçak and Gendarmerie Specialized Sgt. Kerim Örtücü lost their lives in the attack. 

An air-supported operation was begun following the attack.

In a separate attack, a group of PKK militants opened fire on the Soğukkuyu Gendarmerie Post in the morning hours, triggering an armed clash. An additional team of reinforcements was also deployed to the post from the district center.

NCO Mustafa Ayna, 29, and Specialized Sgt. Oğuz Emre Erkoç, 36, were killed in an ambush as the reinforcements arrived at the area.

A wide-scale operation has begun in the region to apprehend the militants.

Meanwhile, one civilian was killed and another 16, including military personnel, were wounded on June 23 in a PKK car bomb attack in the Ömerli district of Mardin, the governor’s office has announced.

PKK militants remotely detonated a bomb-laden car at the entrance to the Ömerli Gendarmerie Post at around 8:25 p.m. A truck driver identified as Halil İbrahim Sevimli, who was passing near the post, was killed while five people were wounded in the attack, a statement by the Mardin Governor’s Office said.

Eleven military personnel and their relatives inside the military lodgings were slightly injured due to broken glass. The wounded were taken to hospitals in Mardin and Ömerli for treatment, the office said.

The explosion also created a hole on the Ömerli-Midyat motorway which was later closed to traffic.

Meanwhile, security forces operations have been launched to apprehend the PKK militants responsible for the attack.