Two village guards killed in PKK attack in Turkey’s southeast

DİYARBAKIR

Two village guards were killed in an attack by outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants in the Lice district of the southeastern province of Diyarbakır on Oct. 19. Another two were wounded in the attack, which was carried out with rocket launchers and long barreled weapons. 
The PKK militants launched rockets at a vehicle that was carrying village guards returning from security operations in the district. Clashes erupted between the militants and the village guards after the attack. 

One village guard died at the scene and another three were taken to the Diyarbakır Selahaddin Eyyubi State Hospital, where one of them succumbed to his wounds. 

An operation was launched in order to apprehend the militants involved in the attack. 

Separately, the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) conducted an aerial operation against PKK targets in northern Iraq and the Çukurca district of the southeastern Hakkari province. 

The jets hit the Avaşin-Basyan region of northern Iraq between 4:45 and 4:55 p.m. on Oct. 18 after intelligence of the PKK targets in the area was received, the TSK statement said, adding that a shelter in the region was destroyed. 

Another aerial operation was launched in the Çukurca district between 7:56 and 8:21 p.m. and weapon-launching positions and shelters belonging to the outlawed group were destroyed.

The jets returned to their bases safely after both operations, the TSK also stated.

Elsewhere, one PKK militant was caught and another was captured dead by the military in the rural Kemah district of the eastern province of Erzincan province. 

According to a statement released by Erzincan Governor’s Office, a Kalashnikov rifle was confiscated in the operations.