Suspected PKK attack in southeastern Turkey kills 6, including 2-year-old

[News_Editor]

Suspected PKK attack in southeastern Turkey kills 6, including 2-year-old

2011-10-19 08:43:31 GMT+7 (ICT)

ANKARA, TUKEY (BNO NEWS) -- Six people were killed, including a toddler, when suspected PKK militants attacked a police vehicle with an explosive device in southeastern Turkey, local media reported on Tuesday.

The explosion occurred in the Güroymak district of Bitlis province in southeastern Turkey as a police vehicle passed by and has been blamed on the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), according to Turkey's World Bulletin.

The explosion killed four police officers and two civilians, including a 2-year-old girl. Several others were injured, among them another two police officers who were reported in critical condition.

According to reports, Turkish intelligence officers had recently intercepted radio communications between militants which revealed that PKK senior member Erdal of Syria ordered increased attacks against Turkish security forces after the destruction of a PKK camp.

Last week, a PKK camp located in Kavaklı, located some 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the provincial center of Turkey's southeastern Hakkari province, was destroyed by Turkish military forces. The camp was a key base for the Kurdish Communities Union (KCK), the organization controlling the PKK and affiliated groups, both logistically and strategically.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan has called on Turkey's Kurds to fight off the PKK, which has increased its attacks in the past few months. Throughout the year, Turkey has carried out air strikes against suspected PKK targets in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish area and in southeastern Turkey.

Last Thursday, suspected PKK members shot and killed a police officer in front of a police station in the province of Hatay. Three others were wounded.

Suspected PKK rebels have killed at least 40 Turkish soldiers since July. Eight Turkish soldiers and a village guard were killed on August 17 when a roadside bomb and an ambush targeted a military convoy in Turkey's southeastern province of Hakkari near the Iraqi border. Among the fatalities was a military officer who was in command of the troops.

The PKK, which has been labeled as a terrorist organizations by the United States, Turkey and the European Union, was established in 1984 in its efforts to establish the eastern and southeastern regions of Turkey as an autonomous Kurdish state. Over 40,000 soldiers and civilians have been killed in violent clashes since the group took arms. The PKK maintains its military bases across the Iraqi border.

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