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Three PKK militants killed in southeast Turkey clashes

A Turkish police officer patrols a street during clashes with PKK militants in the Sur district of Diyarbakir on December 24, 2015. ©AFP

Clashes between police and members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) have left three militants dead in the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir.

According to a statement released by Turkish authorities on Thursday, the PKK militants were killed in clashes with special forces in the southern Yenisehir district after they launched an attack on security forces there.

The clashes began shortly after hundreds of people attempted to march towards the city center while carrying the coffin of two PKK militants killed in another incident earlier this week. In response, Turkish soldiers fired tear gas and used water cannon to disperse the crowd.

Meanwhile, in the southeastern Mardin Province bordering Syria, PKK militants carried out an attack late on Wednesday targeting a house belonging to relatives of ruling Justice and Development Party members, killing two people and wounding two others, Turkish media reports said.

At least 31 civilians have been killed in fighting since December 14, according to figures from the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP). 

People leave their houses during clashes between Turkish security forces and Kurdish activists in the Sur district of Diyarbakir on December 24, 2015. ©AFP

The Turkish military has been conducting operations against the positions of the PKK in northern Iraq and southeastern Turkey.

The operations began in the wake of a deadly July bombing in the southern Turkish town of Suruc. More than 30 people died in that attack, which the Turkish government blamed on the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group.

PKK militants launched a series of attacks against Turkish troops after the bombing, prompting government's military operations in response.


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