Three soldiers were killed and three others injured when terrorists attacked a gendarmerie outpost in Şemdinli in the southeastern province of Hakkari early Tuesday morning. Close to 50 terrorists opened fire on an outpost near the village of Beyyurdu in Şemdinli; the soldiers responded in kind. Pvt. Volkan Yulalı, Pvt. Erkan Akdeniz and Pvt. Mahmut Yalçındağ died in the Şemdinli attack. Additional units were transferred to the region following the attack, and 10 terrorists were killed in a subsequent operation.Akdeniz’s brother, Mehmet Akdeniz, also died in 1997 when he stepped on a mine planted by the PKK. He died in the explosion while serving in the military in the Beytüşşebap district of the southeastern province of Şırnak.
Shortly after the deaths of the three soldiers, another soldier was killed late Tuesday when terrorists attacked an outpost in Batman. A group of terrorists opened fire on a team of soldiers near the Vergili gendarmerie outpost in Gercüş, in Batman, at around 10 p.m. During the ensuing clash, which lasted nearly an hour, Pvt. Süleyman Tekgül was killed and two other soldiers, including a lieutenant, were injured.
Wednesday saw funerals for the slain soldiers.
The PKK has stepped up its attacks against the military in southeastern Turkey after ending a 14-month cease-fire at the start of June.
More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict, which began in 1984 when the PKK took up arms against the state with the aim of creating a separate Kurdish homeland.
