Fallen Turkish soldier laid to rest in official ceremony in Adıyaman

ADIYAMAN – Doğan News Agency

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One Turkish soldier who was killed on July 20 in a gun attack staged by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in eastern Turkey was laid to rest in a July 21 ceremony.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu also attended the funeral ceremony of gendarmerie soldier Müsellim Ünal, 22, in the southeastern province of Adıyaman.

“We will never forget the fallen soldiers, regardless of our positions … we are working for the unity of 78 million people,” Davutoğlu said during the ceremony. 

Ünal’s body was sent to the Central Anatolian province of Kayseri for burial. 

Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmuş, Interior Minister Sebahattin Öztürk, Labor Minister Faruk Çelik, Defense Minister Vecdi Gönül, Gendarmerie Commander Gen. Abdullah Atay, Police Chief Celalettin Lekesiz, Şanlıurfa Governor İzzettin Küçük, Adıyaman Governor Mahmut Demirtaş, Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputy leader Veli Ağbaba, and CHP deputies Şenal Sarıhan, Necati Yılmaz, Ali Şeker and Nurettin Demir were also present during the ceremony in Adıyaman. 

According to the Turkish General Staff, PKK militants fired on gendarmerie forces in Adıyaman with long-barreled guns. Ünal was killed and two others were wounded in the subsequent security operation to detain the militants.

The operation was conducted in a forested area with military reinforcements, and several caves filled by PKK militants with supplies were discovered.