The terrorist PKK has recently increased its attacks against the gendarmerie and police as well as civilians. The group attacked the Belenoluk gendarmerie outpost in Pervari, Siirt, on Saturday, killing six soldiers and injuring 10. A military ceremony was held for the soldiers in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır, with the attendance of Interior Minister İdris Naim Şahin, Defense Minister İsmet Yılmaz, Food and Agriculture Minister Mehdi Eker, Land Forces Commander Hayri Kıvrıkoğlu, Gendarmerie General Commander Bekir Kalyoncu, Siirt Mayor Musa Çolak, Diyarbakır Mayor Mustafa Toprak, Diyarbakır Police Chief Mustafa Sağlam and numerous other military officials.
A written statement from Siirt’s mayor said the 10 wounded soldiers were taken to Şırnak Military Hospital for treatment. Çolak also said three members of the PKK were killed in Saturday’s clash, including one woman.
Speaking at the military ceremony, Batman Gendarmerie Sector Commander Lt. Gen. Nejdet Köse stated that every member of the armed forces is ready to sacrifice his life for his country. Köse said the soldiers were killed while on duty, keeping the country united and at peace.
Following the ceremony, the dead soldiers’ remains were sent to their hometowns, where funeral ceremonies were held on Monday. Erdan Canbulat and Önder Turgay’s bodies were brought to their hometown of İzmir on Monday morning, for a funeral ceremony after the noon prayer. Ömer Dursun’s body was sent to Samsun, where city officials gathered in city’s airport to retrieve the soldier’s body, and a funeral was held for Adem Yörük in the Korkuteli district of Antalya. Halil İbrahim Türkmen’s body was brought to his hometown, Konya, on Monday, where relatives of the dead soldier said that they will not lament, because that would be a victory for the terrorists.
15 people were taken into custody when Siirt gendarmerie units launched an investigation in the city to identify those who aided and abetted the PKK in this attack. Local gendarmes report that terrorists hijacked a pickup truck before committing the attack, and the owner of the truck is also among the suspects taken into custody. Belenoluk’s muhtar (village official) Abdülhamit Acar said that most of the villagers were either working in the fields or feeding animals at the time of the incident. “The whereabouts of many villagers were or are not known. I myself could not get in touch with my two children, and they have just returned home this morning. They told me that they were afraid to come back home because of the attack,” Acar said.
