Turkey: Kurdish rebel attacks kill at least 24 soldiers

[News_Editor]

Turkey: Kurdish rebel attacks kill at least 24 soldiers

2011-10-20 00:33:03 GMT+7 (ICT)

ANKARA, TURKEY (BNO NEWS) -- At least 24 soldiers were killed in southeastern Turkey on early Wednesday morning as clashes broke out between government troops and Kurdish rebels, officials said.

The fighting broke out simultaneously in three different areas at around 1 a.m. local time between suspected members of Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and security forces in Turkey's Hakkari province, security sources told Today's Zaman.

Hakkari Governor Muammer Türker confirmed the PKK attacks in the province, which is predominantly Kurdish. Officials with the country's prime minister later confirmed that a total of 24 soldiers had been killed while 18 others have been injured.

According to reports, up to 100 PKK rebels were involved in the attacks which took place in the districts of Çukurca and Yüksekova as well as the Hakkari city center. After approximately four hours of fighting, the Kurdish rebels fled while military troops continued by shelling their escape routes.

The attacks have been the deadliest in recent years, forcing Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan to cancel his official visit to Kazakhstan where he was scheduled to travel to on Wednesday. Chief of General Staff General Necdet Özel and other security officials have made their way to the province of Hakkari to monitor the situation. Some reports indicated that ErdoÄŸan would travel to the province as well.

The fighting comes just one day after after a roadside bomb attack in the Güroymak district of Bitlis province killed at least eight people, including five policemen and three civilians. Among the victims was a 2-year-old girl.

Previous reports said 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.

Prime Minister ErdoÄŸan has called on Turkish 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.

Suspected PKK rebels have killed at least 65 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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