1 soldier, 2 policemen killed in eastern Turkey

One soldier was killed and four others injured in two simultaneous PKK attacks in Tunceli province late on Saturday. PKK terrorists attacked the Merkez Gökçek and Şehit Mehmet gendarmerie outposts in the Nizamiye district with rockets on Saturday. Five soldiers were injured in the attacks and taken to Tunceli State Hospital, but one soldier died en route. Another wounded soldier, in critical condition, was transferred to Fırat University Hospital in Elazığ by air ambulance. Security forces have launched an operation in the region to capture the PKK terrorists who escaped.

The same day saw two police officers killed by PKK terrorists in the provinces of Van and Hakkari. One officer, identified as Tuncay Akyüz, was killed in an armed attack by a PKK terrorist at 10 p.m. while standing guard in front of the emergency unit of a hospital in Van. Akyüz was treated at the hospital but died despite all medical efforts. An operation was launched by police to capture the policeman's murderer.

Another police officer, İsmail Öztürkçü, was the victim of an armed attack in Yüksekova, a district of Hakkari province, early on Saturday, and died at the scene. A military funeral was held for the slain policeman in his hometown of Van on Saturday afternoon. Economy Minister Zafer Çağlayan and many other politicians and high-ranking military commanders attended the funeral. Çağlayan offered his condolences to the officer's wife and two children, one aged 7 and the other 10.

In the meantime, one PKK terrorist was killed on Sunday during security operations being conducted in the region. The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) also found 200 kilograms of explosives planted by the terrorist PKK in two locations. The explosives were destroyed by the TSK.

Security forces also found a car full of explosives on the Tunceli-Pülümür road near a military outpost on Sunday. The forces took security measures around the car as they tried to destroy the explosives inside.

A remote-controlled explosive planted along a road in the Yüksekova district of Hakkari was found on Sunday by police, who prevented a possible disaster. Bomb disposal teams were referred to the scene to destroy the device.

In a related incident on Sunday, a mine blast occurred on a stretch of road in Bitlis's Güroymak district after a military convoy passed through the area. Because the blast took place after the passing of the convoy, no loss of life occurred in the incident. Turkish security forces have launched an operation against the PKK terrorists in the region.

PKK kidnaps two teachers in Diyarbakır

PKK terrorists kidnapped two male schoolteachers on Saturday in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır.

According to a statement from the Diyarbakır Governor's Office, a group of terrorists blocked the road between the province of Muş and the Kulp district of Diyarbakır in the vicinity of Şenyayla village and kidnapped the two teachers from a car they stopped. Security forces launched a large-scale operation to find the abductees. The identities of the teachers have not been revealed.

This kidnapping incident comes a few days after a group of terrorists set a school on fire in the Şemdinli, a district of Hakkari. The terrorists set Atatürk Elementary School in the village of Altınsu on fire on Thursday night, rendering the school building unusable.

Meanwhile, a PKK hideout was found by security forces in the eastern province of Muş on Saturday. According to a statement from the Muş Governor's Office, the shelter was found as a result of statements from four PKK terrorists who were captured after a clash that erupted between PKK terrorists and security forces in Hasköy, Muş province, on Sept. 20. The shelter was destroyed.