One member of the gendarmerie -- which fights PKK terrorists in eastern Turkey alongside the army -- was martyred when he stepped on a mine in the southeastern province of Şırnak late on Monday. Another was felled in a similar blast in the eastern province of Ağrı early on Tuesday, officials said.Dozens of soldiers and paramilitaries have been martyred this year in an escalation of separatist violence between the PKK and Turkish forces, leading to calls from the army for an operation into northern Iraq to deal with PKK bases there. While the government has said it agrees with the army and that such an operation could be launched, it has not reconvened Parliament to approve such a move.
At the weekend a PKK terrorist hijacked an oil-tanker truck and drove it into a gendarmerie post, killing himself and the truck’s driver, but troops had fled in time and escaped unscathed, security officials said.
Security forces killed two terrorists in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır during routine checks in the region, where the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) has stepped up its security measures.
A statement released by the General Staff said that during a routine check military forces in the region engaged a group of outlawed PKK terrorists. The terrorists answered the security forces’ call for surrender by opening fire, at which point an armed clash ensued. Security forces killed two terrorists.
Along with the dead terrorists, one M-16 infantry rifle, two Kalashnikov assault rifles, three walkie-talkies, a pair of binoculars, two mobile phones, 11 ammunition clips and various survival kits were seized. An all-out operation in the region is continuing.
Also, during another search conducted in the Mt. Küpeli area of Şırnak, security forces seized survival kits and a supply of bazooka shells.
According to information from the General Staff, since the beginning of June 47 terrorists have been removed from combat; 26 of them were killed, 13 were captured and eight surrendered.
Benzer Haberler 
National
