A group of terrorists opened fire on the Hantepe outpost in the Çukurca district of Hakkari early in the day. Soldiers responded and a clash ensued. Six soldiers died during the hours-long clash, while 17 others were wounded.Another soldier was killed in the Gürpınar district of Van on the same day when terrorists attacked a military vehicle carrying soldiers near the village of Akdoğu. A large-scale operation was launched in the region in response.
The attack sparked an outcry over the lack of precautionary measures taken to prevent the attacks. According to reports, the police and the military intelligence department had warned the relevant authorities about the attack approximately 10 days before it occurred. The National Police Department had briefed the necessary people on July 8 that a group of 60 terrorists was going to carry out an attack on military outposts in Çukurca along the border.
Furthermore, the extreme poverty that the family of Sgt. Serdar Yeşilyurt, killed following the terrorist attack in Van, lived in stood out during his funeral ceremony and sparked a national discussion over the socioeconomic background of the soldiers on the front lines.
On Tuesday the mayor of Kozan, Kazım Özgan, and other local officials, visited the family home in Kozan in Adana province, and witnessed the life of hardship the Yeşilyurt family, which includes six children, has to endure, all while living in a shanty house. The mayor felt the need to act, and he had municipal security forces open a store at midnight, where new clothes were purchased for the whole family for the funeral on Wednesday, in which thousands participated.
