Clashes, militant bombing kill nine in southeast Turkey

September 13, 2015 By administrator

Diyarbakir, Turkey, September 13, 2015. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey | By Seyhmus Cakan,

Kurdish militants killed two police officers in a car bomb attack on a checkpoint in southeast Turkey on Sunday, as authorities imposed a curfew in the region’s largest city Diyarbakir where clashes broke out, security sources said.

Turkish forces backed up by helicopters and commandos shelled a mountainous area where the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fighters had fled after the checkpoint attack in Sirnak province, killing six of them, the sources added.

A police officer was reported killed in another confrontation.

Hundreds of militants and more than 100 police and soldiers have died since a ceasefire collapsed in July, shattering a peace process launched in 2012. It is the worst violence Turkey has seen in two decades.

The Diyarbakir governor’s office said it had placed the central historic Sur district under a round-the-clock curfew. Security sources said seven police officers were wounded in clashes there.

In other central areas of the city, police fired tear gas and water cannon at small groups of youths who threw stones and tried to set up street barricades in protest against the curfew.

Speaking to reporters near the Sur district, the leader of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), Selahattin Demirtas, called for the Turkish state and PKK leadership across the border in Iraq’s Qandil mountains to halt the violence and return to peace talks.

Source: reuters

Turkey Three police officers killed in PKK attacks in Turkey’s southeast

September 13, 2015 By administrator

A total of three police officers were killed and seven were wounded on Sept. 13 in two separate attacks by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the southeastern Şırnak and Diyarbakır provinces, Doğan News Agency has reported.

PKK detonated a bomb-laden vehicle in front of a police checkpoint in Şırnak early in the morning, killing two police officers and wounding five.

According to initial reports, two militants responsible for the attack were killed as an air-supported operation began to apprehend the other fleeing militants.

In a separate attack in Diyarbakır’s Silvan province, PKK killed one police officer and wounded two, including a civilian.

PKK attacked a group of police team heading toward Mescit neighborhood to cover up the ditches dug by the Patriotic Revolutionary Youth Movement (YDG-H), the youth wing of the PKK. One police officer inside an earth-digger was killed as a rocket-propelled grenade hit on it. Police forces immediately responded the attack and an armed clash erupted with the militants. One police officer and one civilian who was on his balcony during the clashes were wounded.

Turkey Anger mounts against gov’t as Turkey continues to bid farewell to fallen officers

September 10, 2015 By administrator

(Photo: Cihan)

As thousands of people continued on Thursday to bid farewell to police officers killed by Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), funerals held in the hometowns of the martyrs were marked by widespread vocal condemnation of both the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government and the PKK.

During the funeral held for Kadir Özkaya, one of the police officers killed in a PKK bomb attack on a minibus in the eastern province of Iğdır on Tuesday, hundreds chanted slogans against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his son Bilal, saying, “Tayyip, enlist your son in the military” and “Tayyip, send your son to die.” Özkaya’s parents and relatives were inconsolable as they embraced his coffin.

Hasan Özkaya, the brother of the fallen officer, was in tears as he spoke to the press, accusing the AK Party of sharing the blame with the PKK for the deaths of members of the security forces, as the clashes erupted immediately after the AK Party lost its ability to form a single-party government in the June 7 general election.

There have been increasing numbers of people being killed in clashes across Turkey ever since the interim Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government lost its parliamentary majority on June 7 for the first time since coming to power in 2002. Since the June election, 120 members of the police force and the military have been killed in clashes with the PKK.

source: zaman

Turkey’s HDP warns government not to push country into civil war

September 9, 2015 By administrator

The leader of Turkey’s main opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) has warned the government in Ankara of the potential breakout of a civil war in the country.

Selahattin Demirtas, who is himself a member of Turkey’s Kurd community, said it is the people’s right to respond to those who attempt to burn their homes, businesses, and party building with “proportional” force.

“Everyone should use proportional means to defend themselves,” Demirtas said on Wednesday during a press conference in Turkey’s eastern province of Diyarbakir. “You have got to force them to regret what they do,” threatened Demirtas.

The co-chairman of the pro-Kurdish, left-wing political party accused Turkey’s ruling party of stoking violence in the country to drum up nationalists’ support ahead of an upcoming election.

Turkey is to hold snap elections on November 1 to choose a government after inconclusive polls held in June cancelled the AK Party’s decade-long rule in the parliament.

Demirtas said the pro-Kurdish opposition party was currently “facing a campaign of lynching” orchestrated by the AKP.

Demirtas’ comments came after a night of nationalist protests in the capital, Ankara, and elsewhere, during which several HDP offices and shops belonging to Kurds were set on fire.

“Tonight alone, 186 attacks were carried out. And our headquarters were targeted. This is definitely a planned attack that was orchestrated from one particular place,” said the HDP deputy chairman, Alp Altinors.

“The president and his staff at the palace are the ones behind these attacks,” Altinors argued.

Turkish nationalists see the HDP as the de facto political wing of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a militant group fighting the Ankara government for autonomy.

The HDP denies such claims. However, it has voiced its opposition to waging war against Kurds.

Nationalist anger toward Kurds has increased following recent attacks on security forces and police officers by the PKK in Turkey’s southeast.

At least 14 police officers were killed in a roadside bomb attack in eastern Turkey’s Igdir Province earlier on Tuesday.

In a separate attack on the same day, at least three Turkish police officers were reportedly killed in a rocket-propelled grenade attack by the PKK militants on their armored vehicle in the town of Cizre, the southeastern province of Sirnak.

Turkey has been engaged in one of its biggest security operations in the southern border region over the past weeks. The Turkish military has been conducting offensives against alleged positions of Takfiri Daesh terrorists in northern Syria as well as those of the PKK in northern Iraq and southeastern Turkey.

The security operations began in the wake of the deadly July 20 bomb attack in the southern Turkish town of Suruc, an ethnically Kurdish town located close to the Kurdish town of Kobani on the other side of the border in Syria, where over 30 people died. The Turkish government blamed Daesh for the bombing. On July 22, the PKK claimed responsibility for the killing of two Turkish police officers, saying they were cooperating with Daesh.

The PKK has been fighting for an autonomous Kurdish region inside Turkey since the 1980s. The conflict has left tens of thousands of people dead.

Turkish spy plane shot down near Iraqi-Turkish border, says PKK

September 8, 2015 By administrator

Archival photo.

By Amre Sarhan,

(IraqiNews.com) The armed wing of the of the PKK announced on Tuesday shooting down a Turkish spy plane near the border with Iraq in the second incident in a week.

A spokesman for the PKK Bakhtiar Dogan in an interview with IraqiNews.com, “The PKK shot down, today, a spy plane in Metin area on the Iraqi-Turkey border,” pointing out that, “The plane was flying over the skies under the control of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party forces.”

Dogan added, “The plane, which was shot down, is Turkish-made aircraft.”

Source: IraqiNews

Turkey: 13 security personnel killed by PKK in Iğdır (Mount Ararat) region

September 8, 2015 By administrator

The PKK detonated a bomb close to the town of Hasanhan in the Iğdır province, which borders Iran and Armenia, as a police vehicle was passing by. (Photo: Today’s Zaman, Kürşat Bayhan)

Thirteen police officers were killed and others wounded in a bomb attack on a minibus carried out by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the eastern province of Iğdır on Tuesday, adding to the grief of a nation in mourning and raising the recent death toll to 30.

The officers were targeted while escorting customs officials to the Dilucu Border Gate separating Turkey and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, which is sandwiched between Armenia and Iran and controlled by Azerbaijan. The wounded were taken to the Iğdır State Hospital.

Twelve names of the deceased have been released so far. Mehmet Parlak, Yusuf Yelkenci, Fehmi Şahin, Ali Koç, Haluk Varlı, Burak Zor, Yalçın Talık, Yaşar Doğancay, Hasan Eser, İbrahim Derindere, Adem Cankurtaran and Bekir Serhat Kaya were among the officers killed.

Şahin was a bodyguard once employed by former President Abdullah Gül. Media has reported that the guard was a favorite of Gül’s, who would call him by his first name.

In a response to news of his death, Gül posted several tweets, writing: “I feel sorrow for the martyrs deep in my heart, with [news of new] casualties nearly every day… Şahin worked as my guard for years. I am overwhelmed with grief after hearing of his death. I offer my condolences to the nation.”

The attack came after 16 soldiers were killed and six others wounded in a clash on Sunday sparked by a PKK offensive in the Dağlıca area of Hakkari province.

The Iğdır Governor’s Office issued a written statement on Tuesday, condemning the attack, and announcing that two suspects had been detained and the search for others continues.

On Monday, the PKK opened fire on a police vehicle carrying several officers on patrol in the Başkale district of Van. An officer and two civilians were killed in clashes that ensued when the officers returned fire. An investigation into local PKK cells is underway.

The number of police and military casualties incurred from clashes with the PKK since the June 7 general election has reached 116. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced approximately a month after the election that a settlement process instigated to solve the decades-old Kurdish problem had ended and that the PKK had begun targeting security forces.

On Monday night, more than 40 warplanes targeted PKK bases in northern Iraq, responding to the attacks on Sunday, the deadliest since the two-year ceasefire collapsed in July. A security source said scores of PKK terrorists were killed in the airstrikes.

The renewed conflict, occurring less than two months before an election the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) hopes will restore its majority, has shattered the process Erdoğan launched in 2012 in an attempt to end violence that killed more than 40,000 people over three decades.

It has also complicated Turkey’s role in the US-led fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). A Kurdish militia allied with the PKK has been battling ISIL in northern Syria, backed by US air strikes. But Turkey fears territorial gains by Syria’s Kurds will fuel separatist sentiment among its own Kurdish population.

Dozens of F-16 and F-4 jets took part in the air operation in northern Iraq, which began around 10 p.m. on Monday and continued for six hours, the security source said. The air strikes targeted areas around the PKK’s bases in Qandil, Basyan Avashin and Zap, and hit weapons and food stores in addition to the militants’ positions.

Meanwhile, security forces carried out a controlled detonation of explosives in a vehicle found in the southeastern province of Siirt on Tuesday. Bekir E. left home four days ago, allegedly to retrieve the car, which had been repaired. Worried by his disappearance, his family notified authorities and the car was found, loaded with explosives, in the Baykan district of Siirt. A search for Bekir E. is ongoing.

On Tuesday, members of the PKK opened fire on an ambulance in the Dargeçit district of the southeastern province of Mardin. No casualties have been reported and an investigation has been launched.

Off-duty officer dies after PKK attack in Tunceli

A member of the police force travelling in his private vehicle with his daughter on the Tunceli-Erzincan highway was killed in a PKK attack on Tuesday. The officer was taken to the Tunceli State Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries, while his daughter escaped unharmed.

A clash ensued after the PKK also attacked a military post in the province of Şırnak with rocket launchers. No casualties have been reported.

The PKK, which launched a separatist insurgency in 1984, is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the EU and the US.

An armored military vehicle carrying gendarmes escorting a group of road maintenance workers was attacked with rocket launchers by the PKK on Tuesday in the Tekman district of Erzurum.

12 detained in anti-terror operation in İstanbul

Also on Tuesday, the National Police Department Counterterrorism Unit (TEM) launched simultaneous anti-terror operations in nine districts in İstanbul, including Kadıköy and Çekmeköy. Approximately 20 homes and workplaces were raided during the operation and 12 people found to have attended illegal protests and determined to be organizing new ones were detained.

Source: Zaman

BBC: Turkey sends ground forces into Iraq after militant attacks

September 8, 2015 By administrator

The PKK destroyed a police minibus near Turkey’s far eastern border hours after dozens of fighter jets attacked rebel bases

Turkish ground forces have crossed into Iraq in pursuit of Kurdish militants for the first time since a ceasefire two years ago.

Government officials said the incursion was a “short-term” measure to hunt down PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) rebels.

Turkish warplanes also launched a wave of air strikes on PKK bases in northern Iraq on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, at least 14 Turkish police officers died in a bomb attack blamed on Kurdish militants on Tuesday.

The attack in eastern Igdir province came a day after suspected PKK bombs killed at least 16 Turkish soldiers in the south-eastern Hakkari region.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the PKK had suffered “serious damage” inside and outside of Turkey and was in a state of “panic”.

“Turkish security forces crossed the Iraqi border as part of the hot pursuit of PKK terrorists who were involved in the most recent attacks,” a government source told AFP news agency.

“This is a short-term measure intended to prevent the terrorists’ escape.”

Turkey’s Dogan news agency said two special forces units, supported by warplanes, had been sent in to combat two 20-strong groups of militants.

At least 35 rebels were killed in air raids by F4 and F16 jets on bases at Qandil, Basyan, Avashin and Zap early on Tuesday, according to the Anadolu news agency.

Spiral of attacks – by Selin Girit, BBC News, Istanbul

Not a day passes by in Turkey these days without violence. And as one attack follows another, emotions are running high.

The funerals of 16 soldiers killed in Sunday’s PKK attack were taking place on Tuesday.

Several thousand people have protested in cities across Turkey against PKK violence and the premises of the pro-Kurdish HDP party have come under attack. There were reports of attempted arson.

There is now serious concern that the violence could spiral out of control.

Turkey is gearing up for snap elections on 1 November after the ruling AK Party lost its overall majority in June elections and failed to form a coalition government.

It was the HDP that deprived the AKP of its majority, polling over 13% of the vote and entering parliament as a political party for the first time.

Opposition figures have voiced concerns about maintaining poll security, especially in Turkey’s predominantly Kurdish east and south-east of the country.

Turkey: Kurdistan Workers Party PKK says 31 Turkish soldiers killed in attack

September 7, 2015 By administrator

The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) says its militants have killed 31 Turkish soldiers in an attack and ensuing clashes in southeast Turkey.

According to the PKK-affiliated ANF news agency, a total of 31 soldiers, including a lieutenant colonel, were killed in the militants’ attacks in the Daglica district of the southeastern Turkish province of Hakkari on Sunday.

At least six other soldiers were also injured in the offensive, said the agency, adding that the death toll is likely to go higher.

Following the deadly incident, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu called an emergency meeting overnight to address the worsening security conditions in the country.

But the Turkish army said on Monday that it lost 16 soldiers in the PKK attacks a day earlier. “Sixteen of our comrades in arms were martyred” in Sunday’s clashes, read a statement from the army.

Meanwhile, the Turkish Hürriyet Daily reported that 150 PKK militants took part in Hakkari’s deadly operation in which 400 kilograms of explosives were used, adding that 19 Turkish soldiers were killed in the fatal incident.

Earlier in the day, the Turkish army said that it has launched retaliatory attacks against the PKK positions.

At least 13 PKK positions were targeted by two Turkish F-4 and two F-16 warplanes during a “heavy air campaign” in the southeast of the country, the army said.

The PKK has been fighting for an autonomous Kurdish region inside Turkey since the 1980s. The conflict has left tens of thousands of people dead.

There has been renewed conflict between the PKK and Turkish security forces since July. Turkey has been launching airstrikes against purported Daesh targets in Syria as well as PKK positions in Iraq after a Daesh bomb attack left 32 people dead in the southeastern Turkish town of Suruc on July 20.

Kurdish liberation Army PKK target Turkish soldiers in landmine attack, casualties reported

September 6, 2015 By administrator

Kurdish liberation Army PKK targeted Turkish soldiers in landmine attack late Sunday in the Dağlıca district of Turkey’s southeastern Hakkari province, casualties reported.

Davutoğlu has headed to Ankara for an emergency security meeting regarding the attack.

14 soldiers were killed in the attack, reported Reuters and added that more casulaties are feared, although Turkish security officials have not released an official statement yet.

Turkey: Two police officers killed, three wounded in PKK attack in Diyarbakır

September 6, 2015 By administrator

Two police officers were killed and three colleagues were injured early Sept. 6 in an armed action by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in response to continued operations by security services against the militant group’s youth wing in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır.

Police forces conducted operations against members of the Patriotic Revolutionary Youth Movement (YDG-H) early Sept. 6 in the central district of Sur to cover trenches that have been dug by locals to protect residents against attacks by security forces.

Members of the YDG-H responded to the operations with rocket-propelled grenades, killing two police officers and wounding three others.

A number of people were also detained as part of the operation, while citizens were warned not to leave their houses.

Gunfire and the sounds of bombs were occasionally heard in the neighborhood.

Meanwhile the Diyarbakır Governor’s Office has declared a curfew in the district until further notice.