PKK kills five as operations continue

MARDİN – Doğan News Agency

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Four soldiers and one police officer have been killed in a bomb attack by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants in the Nusaybin district of the southeastern province of Mardin.

Four soldiers were killed when the PKK militants detonated a hand-made explosive during a ground search by security forces during an operation in the district yesterday, leading to the deaths of four soldiers, while one police officer succumbed to his injuries after being wounded  in a similar attack on March 20.

Twenty-two PKK militants were killed in the southeastern provinces of Mardin, Şırnak and Hakkari on March 20, the Turkish military announced on March 21.

According to a statement by the Turkish General Staff, 10 PKK members were killed in Mardin’s Nusaybin district.
The operations in Nusaybin started on March 14, shortly after a curfew went into effect, with specialized soldiers and police officers removing barricades set up by PKK militants in the town.

Some 614 kilograms of explosives were also seized in Mardin.

The operation in the district also saw one policeman martyred earlier on March 21 in the Dicle neighborhood. 

In Şırnak, five PKK militants were killed on March 20, bringing the total number in the province to 33 since operations began.        

One other PKK militant was captured in Şırnak’s Balveren village.

In Hakkari, seven PKK militants were killed in Yüksekova district, increasing the total number in the province to 45 since operations began.

Bodies of two policemen and one soldier, who were killed in Nusaybin and Şırnak on March 20 were sent to their hometowns after official ceremonies. 

A curfew in the Bağlar district in Diyarbakır has been lifted after being implemented last week.