Nine PKK terrorists were killed in a clash between security forces and a group of terrorists in Bağcılar, Bingöl province, in the early hours of Thursday morning. A statement made by the Bingöl Governor's Office said Turkish security forces were carrying out an operation at an address in Bağcılar to capture a group of terrorists when an armed clash broke out after the terrorists refused to surrender. Nine terrorists were killed and three wounded, the statement said, adding that the injured were taken to Bingöl State Hospital for treatment.
Another clash took place in the southeastern province of Hakkari also in the early hours of Thursday morning. One soldier was killed and six others injured when a group of terrorist PKK members attacked security buildings.
The terrorists staged simultaneous attacks on 10 separate targets in Çukurca, including the Çukurca Gendarmerie Command and Çukurca Police Department, with heavy weapons around 2:30 a.m. Security forces immediately responded to the attack, which killed one soldier and injured six. Hakkari Governor Muammer Türker also confirmed the death toll. He said the clash between security forces and the PKK lasted more than an hour. Türker added that four of the attackers were killed in the ensuing operation to capture the assailants.
The attacks come less than a week after Turkish warplanes bombed three suspected PKK targets in northern Iraq, used by the terrorists to stage hit-and-run attacks on Turkish targets.
The father of 22-year-old soldier Metin Çetin, who was killed in the clash in Çukurca, stated that he has another son who is currently doing his compulsory military service, adding: “What more could I say? We have sacrificed our son for our country.”
Rize Deputy Governor Mustafa Erkayıran, Rize Provincial Gendarmerie Command head Col. Turhan Talu and Rize Martyrs' Families Foundation head Kemal Aksu visited Metin Çetin's father Ahmet Çetin at his house in Rize's Yeniköy neighborhood and offered their condolences to the family.
The conflict with the PKK has claimed tens of thousands of lives and cost Turkey hundreds of billions of dollars. The group is labeled a terrorist organization by the European Union and the United States, which has supplied Predator drones to Turkey to assist with its fight in the rugged Southeast.
