Turkey, eight dead and dozens wounded in a double Kurdish PKK attack
Target of the attacks, Turkish police vehicles and stations. An explosion in Kiziltepe killed three people and injured 25; car bomb in Diyarbakir killed five civilians and wounded 12. The militants of PKK leader speaks of a "new style of war" launched against Ankara.
Istanbul (AsiaNews / Agencies) – At least eight people have died and several left injured in two bomb attacks unleashed by the rebels of the PKK (the Kurdistan Workers' Party) against the Turkish police yesterday in the majority Kurdish south-east of the country. According to Ankara, at least three people were killed and 25 injured in an explosion in the town of Kiziltepe. In Diyarbakir car bomb killed five civilians and injured 12 others.
Clashes between Turkish security forces and rebel militias close to the PKK resumed last year (July 2015), ending a ceasefire in force for some time. The new hotbed of tension has caused the worst wave of violence in the region in 20 years.
The attacks coincide with a renewal of the military, following the attempted militray coup of July 15.
The car bomb in Diyarbakir targeted a control post situated near a bridge over the Tigris River. In Kiziltepe the bombs were detonated through a remote control near a hospital.
Earlier, in the border province of Sirnak at least four Turkish soldiers were killed and nine were injured during an attack - with mortars and long-range weapons - launched by PKK militants across the border in Iraq. In a recent interview with the Kurdish militia leader Cemil Bayik spoke of a "new style of war" launched against Turkey.
The PKK is outlawed party in Turkey and its leader Abdullah Ocalan has been imprisoned since 1999 [the death penalty was commuted to life imprisonment in 2002]. The group launched an armed struggle against Ankara in 1984, denouncing widespread abuse and discrimination against the Kurdish minority. Since the end of the ceasefire, which came into force in March 2013, the Turkish military operations and the Kurdish retaliation has caused hundreds of casualties.
According to the Turkish government the PKK (and affiliated groups) are behind a series of attacks that have bloodied the country.
The violence also prompted many residents of the area to flee to avoid being involved in the fighting, which involved rural and urban centers. One of the objectives of the Turkish army military operations is precisely to hunt the fighters from urban centers.
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21/03/2016 09:08
