Two policemen killed, six security officials wounded in PKK attack

ŞIRNAK - Doğan News Agency

DHA Photo

Two Turkish police officers were killed in a bomb attack by militants from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the country’s southeast on March 8 and six security personnel were wounded in the attack.

The two were killed after PKK militants carried out a bombing attack in İdil, a district in the southeastern province of Şırnak that has been under curfew since Feb. 16 for military operations targeting the militant group. Six other security personnel were wounded in the attack.

Reports indicate 12 PKK militants were also killed in the ensuing clashes. 

The offensive came a day after a terrorist attack carried out by the PKK in Sur, a district in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır, early on March 7 that killed Specialized Sgt. İbrahim Tetik and Sergeant Gürsel Demir.

Tetik succumbed to injuries at 5:15 a.m. on March 7 after he was wounded in an armed attack by PKK militants, the Turkish General Staff said in a written statement on March 7 and announced in a separate statement later in the day that Demir had also succumbed to his injuries sustained in the attack.

Turkey has recently stepped up efforts to fight terrorism in the southeast, specifically with ground operations targeting the PKK. Local governors have imposed curfews in several towns in the country’s east and southeast to remove militants from the area. 

A round-the-clock curfew went into effect in downtown İdil and the district’s Dirsekli village starting from 11 p.m. on Feb. 16.