Security forces launched an operation against a group of PKK militants who were reportedly plotting to detonate a land mine they had planted along the Yüksekova-Esendere highway early on Friday. Clashes erupted between the two groups and a soldier was killed. A terrorist was also killed during the clashes.
At least 40,000 people have been killed in the fight against the outlawed PKK since 1984, when the terrorist organization was set up with the goal of establishing an autonomous Kurdish state in the eastern and southeastern parts of Turkey. The PKK has been declared a terrorist organization by the international community, including the US and the EU.
Meanwhile, 10 people were detained on Friday in İstanbul as part of an investigation into the youth branch of the terrorist Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK), an umbrella political organization that also includes the PKK. The suspects reportedly had taken part in terrorist activities in İstanbul, including Molotov cocktail attacks and bomb attacks.
