News / Turkey

Three Turkish security forces killed in clashes with PKK

Saturday, 05 December 2015 6:50 PM [ Last Update: Saturday, 05 December 2015 6:50 PM ]

The AFP photo shows Turkish soldiers patrol a street in the Silvan district after clashes between Turkish forces and Kurdish militants in Silvan in Diyarbakir Province on November 14, 2015.

At least three Turkish security forces have been killed in clashes with Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants in Turkey’s southeastern region.

The three were killed in clashes in the provinces of Diyarbakir and Sirnak on Saturday.

According to security sources, a member of Turkey’s special forces lost his life in Diyarbakir’s Sur district, while two soldiers were also killed in an area in Sirnak Province, which borders Iraq. Two others were also wounded in the second attack.

Reports say the two soldiers were killed in Sirnak after coming under attack by PKK militants as they stopped at a roadside to change their vehicle’s tires.

The killings come about one week after Tahir Elci, a lawyer and advocate of Kurdish rights, was killed in a gun battle between police and unidentified gunmen in the district of Sur in Diyarbakir, as he was giving a press statement.

The death of Elci, who was also the head of Diyarbakir’s Bar Association, triggered protests across the country.

Hundreds of mourners rally during the funeral of Kurdish Lawyer Tahir Elci, the day after his assassination in Diyarbakir, on November 29, 2015. (AFP photo)

This comes as Turkey has been engaged in a large-scale military campaign against PKK in its southern border region following a deadly bombing attack in the southern Turkish town of Suruc on July 20. More than 30 people died in the attack.

The Turkish military has also been conducting offensives against the positions of the PKK in northern Iraq.

PKK militants have been fighting for an autonomous Kurdish region inside Turkey since 1984. A shaky ceasefire between Ankara and the PKK that had stood since 2013 was declared null and void following the Turkish military campaign against the militant group.

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