Five security officials, including two police chiefs and a major, have been killed in an attack by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the Nusaybin district of the southeastern province of Mardin amid ongoing security operations.
A chief of police, identified as Doğan Sakarya, was heavily wounded when PKK opened fire with Kanas-branded sniper rifles during an operation in Nusaybin’s Dicle neighborhood around 11:40 a.m. on April 7. The wounded officer was promptly taken to Nusaybin State Hospital but later succumbed to his injuries despite all medical attempts to save his life.
Two other officials, identified as Chief of Police Zafer Kurt and Mjr. Ahmet Karaman, were also killed after PKK militants detonated an improvised explosive device at 1:45 p.m. as clashes continued in the neighborhood.
Reports indicated two other security officials were killed in the operation and five others were wounded, although their identities have not been released yet.
Initial reports from the region suggested PKK escaped through tunnels they had opened inside the walls of neighboring houses.
Gendarmes and special operations police officers launched a joint operation to apprehend the fleeing militants.
Meanwhile, as anti-terror operations rage across Turkey’s southeastern provinces, Turkish warplanes hit targets belonging to the PKK in northern Iraq on April 6, the Turkish General Staff announced early April 7.