Soldier, village guard killed in PKK attacks in southeast Turkey

DİYARBAKIR / ŞIRNAK – Anadolu Agency

AA Photo

Two security personnel have been killed in separate attacks by outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants in the restive southeastern Turkish provinces of Şırnak and Diyarbakır. 

Murat Sevim, who served as a village guard in Şırnak’s İsmetpaşa district for 19 years, was badly wounded in an attack by PKK militants near his house on Jan. 30. He was rushed to the Şırnak State Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. 

The Turkish Armed Forces issued a statement on its official website, describing the PKK attack that took place “at his home, in front of his children,” as “treacherous” and “disgraceful.”

Earlier in the day, a Turkish soldier was killed during an operation against the PKK in Diyarbakır’s Sur district, where a 24-hour curfew in effect since Dec. 11 was expanded to include five additional neighborhoods.
 
The soldier, identified as specialized sergeant Selçuk Paker, was hospitalized at Diyarbakır Military Hospital where he succumbed to injuries sustained during the attack.

Four PKK militants were killed in the same operation, a statement from the Turkish General Staff announced. 

The military also said in a statement that 16 PKK militants were killed during anti-PKK operations on Jan. 30. Nine were killed in Cizre while another seven were killed in Sur. 

The two districts are among areas that have been the focus of counter-terror operations and military curfews since early December 2015.

The total number of PKK militants killed so far has risen to over 600, according to a Turkish General Staff statement issued on Jan. 30. Some 483 PKK terrorists have been killed in Cizre and 144 have been killed in Sur since early December.