Four soldiers killed in clashes with the PKK in Diyarbakır, Mardin

DİYARBAKIR / MARDİN

DHA Photo

Four soldiers have been killed in separate clashes with militants of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Turkey’s southeastern provinces of Diyarbakır and Mardin. 

Three out of the four were killed in the southeastern province of Mardin, the Turkish Army announced early on March 3, after clashes erupted between Turkish soldiers and PKK militants during ongoing operations in Mardin’s Dargeçit district on March 2. 

The Turkish Armed Forces released an official statement regarding the incident.

“Three of our heroic brothers-in-arms were killed. Eight members of the separatist terrorist organization were apprehended dead alongside their weapons in the aforementioned clash,” the statement said, while extending condolences to the soldiers’ families. 

The soldiers were identified as Gendarmerie Lt. Emrah Şahin, Abdulkadir Çelik and Muhammet Karadağ.

The army said in a separate written statement that a large amount of weapons and ammunition were seized.

Four Kalashnikov rifles with 18 chargers and 435 cartridges, two M-16 rifles with 15 chargers and 206 cartridges, two Kanas-branded snipers, a Zagros-branded sniper and 116 cartridges, two rocket-launchers, six hand grenades, five binoculars, 11 walkie-talkies, a night-vision device and a large number of documents linked to the militant group were also confiscated, the statement said. 

Meanwhile, a specialized sergeant was killed and another was wounded as PKK militants opened fire with Kanas-branded snipers in Diyarbakır’s Sur district, mid-day on March 3. 

Both soldiers were heavily wounded during an operation and were transferred to a hospital for treatment, a statement by the Army explained. The soldier could not be saved “despite all attempts,” and succumbed to his wounds at 3 p.m., the statement added.