Three Turkish soldiers killed in PKK attack in Turkey’s Şırnak

ŞIRNAK

Three Turkish soldiers were killed and one was wounded after outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants attacked Turkish security forces in the southeastern province of Şırnak early on April 16.

The attack was carried out against the Kuyutepe military base area in Şırnak.

38 militants ‘neutralized’ over last week: Ministry

Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry stated on April 16 that a total of 38 militants were “neutralized” as part of counter-terror operations staged across Turkey over the past week.

The authorities often use the word “neutralized” in statements to imply that the militants in question either surrendered or were killed or captured.

The ministry said security forces had carried out 487 counter-terrorism operations on April 9-16.

The ministry specified that 18 of the militants were killed, six were captured, and 14 surrendered to the authorities.

Some 149 people were also detained for allegedly aiding and abetting the PKK and 75 others for suspected links to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

Another 702 people were detained over alleged links to the movement of U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen, referred to by the authorities as the Fetullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), while 21 were detained over links to outlawed leftist groups.

FETÖ is widely believed to have orchestrated Turkey’s July 2016 coup attempt, which killed 250 people and injured nearly 2,200.