One soldier killed in PKK attack in Turkey’s Hakkari

HAKKARİ – Anadolu Agency

One soldier was killed and three others were wounded in an outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) attack in the Çukurca district of the southeastern province of Hakkari on May 3.

A group of PKK militants opened fire with long-barreled weapons on a team of gendarmerie forces who were conducting searches near the Çığlı village bordering Iraq. An armed clash later erupted between security forces and the militants.

One soldier was killed while three others were wounded in the clashes. The wounded soldiers were transferred to hospital by helicopter.

According to initial reports, six PKK militants were killed in air-supported operations following the clashes in the region.

2.5 million liras in aid 

Many families have been negatively affected by the ongoing clashes in the district, as a total of 5,666 families have appealed to the Family and Social Policies Ministry due to ongoing anti-terror operations against the PKK in Hakkari’s Yüksekova district, according to Ebubekir Şahin, the ministry’s undersecretary. 

“We have so far provided 2,433,532 Turkish Liras in financial assistance to a total 2,910 families after assessing their need for help,” Şahin told members of the press on May 2. 


New satellite to fight terror

As operations against the PKK continued, Turkish Minister of Science, Industry and Technology Fikri Işık announced that the Göktürk-2 satellite was upgraded and the new satellite, which will be used in the country’s anti-terror efforts, will be launched in 2018.

The new satellite will be able to detect objects as small as 60 square centimeters through new, locally-made condensing lenses. 

“Göktürk 2 plays a significant part in fighting against terror. It locates [objects] and provides notification [of their location],” Işık said, adding the upgraded Göktürk will fly at a lower altitude and provide better resolution. 

“Right now it has a 2.5 meter resolution, which means it can detect 2.5-square-meter objects. The new satellite will be able to locate objects that are 60 centimeters square,” he said, underlining there are already-extant systems which can detect even 20-25-square-centimeter objects.