Three soldiers killed, two wounded in hand grenade explosion in Turkey’s Hakkari

HAKKARİ – Anadolu Agency

AA photo

Three soldiers were killed and two were wounded Oct. 21 when a hand-grenade accidentally exploded in the 3rd Infantry Division Command Post in the southeastern province of Hakkari.

A total of five soldiers were wounded in the explosion. However, three who were badly injured later succumbed to their injuries at the Yüksekova State Hospital.

One of the wounded soldiers received ambulatory treatment at the hospital, while the others were in more severe conditions.

This explosion came at a time when tension in Turkey has increased due to clashes between the Turkish security forces and the outlawed members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) since late July. 

The latest of such attacks came on Oct. 17 and Oct. 18. 

In Hakkari, four soldiers were killed following clashes with outlawed PKK militants in Hakkari’s Yüksekova district in a military operation, the Turkish General Staff said in a written statement.

Meanwhile, two soldiers were killed and three others were injured in the eastern province of Tunceli on Oct. 18 after PKK militants detonated a 500-kilogram explosive device as a military vehicle passed by on a road connecting Tunceli and the eastern province of Erzincan.