One soldier killed, another injured in clash with PKK in Turkey’s east

ELAZIĞ – BİNGÖL

One soldier was killed and another was injured in an operation conducted against outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants at a rural area between the eastern province of Elazığ’s Karakoçan district and the provincial border of eastern Bingöl on June 26, Doğan News Agency has reported.

The military personnel were attacked by PKK militants who were indicated to have laid an ambush on the area previously. The initial fire by the militants wounded two soldiers who were later taken to the Bingöl State Hospital. One of the soldiers was severely injured and could not be rescued despite all efforts by doctors. Medical staff said they were continuing the treatment of the other injured soldier.

The military later sent reinforcing units to the area of the clash along with helicopters to nab the militants who ran away.

[HH] 2 soldiers slightly injured in bomb attack in Trabzon

Separately, two soldiers were slightly injured in the district of Maçka of the northeastern Trabzon province when PKK militants detonated a remote controlled bomb on June 25. 

The incident occurred at around 5 p.m. local time at the Samandıra Highland as gendarme personnel were patrolling the area. The PKK militants at that point detonated a hand-made bomb placed in a plastic bottle, causing shrapnel pieces to hit the feet of Halit Öztürk and Ümit Fidan. Following the attack, special operations teams and ambulances were dispatched to the area. 

After an initial treatment at the Maçka State Hospital, the injured soldiers were transferred to the Trabzon Karadeniz Technical University Hospital, where medical personnel reportedly indicated that the soldiers’ health situations were good. 

One of the locals, Nizam Tüfekçi, who ran to the soldiers’ help following the attack, told Doğan News Ageny: “The explosive had been put inside a plastic bottle, and with the attacks the shrapnel pieces have been scattered around. Both of the two soldiers have been injured in the feet. When we heard the explosion, we went there [the place of the incident]; fortunately the soldiers’ health conditions are good.”

The road from Altındere Valley to Samandıra Highland has been closed to civilian traffic by armored military vehicles, with the army initiating a large scale operation in the area to nab militants who ran away following the incident. 

Separately, a 28-year-old infantry special sergeant succumbed to his wounds at a hospital in the southeastern province of Hakkari after an assault fire by the PKK again on June 25. A statement from the Hakkari Governor’s Office indicated that the incident took place in Çukurca district’s Güven Mountains area. 

“Following an assault fire, one military personnel has been injured but could not be rescued despite all efforts at the Hakkari State Hospital to where he was transferred and was martyred,” the governor’s office said in a statement.