Kurds kill several state soldiers in Turkey’s Hakkari

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Kurdistan24) – On Wednesday, fighters of the military wing of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) killed at least four Turkish soldiers and wounded eight others in Semdinli district in the Kurdish southeastern province of Hakkari (known in Kurdish as Colemêrg).

Kurdistan24 office in Diyarbakir learned from Kurdish sources that in Semdinli (known in Kurdish as Şemzînan), the PKK military wing, known as HPG, killed and wounded Turkish soldiers in a deadly explosion that hit two vehicles before reaching Semdinli.

The Kurdish sources also told Kurdistan24 that the reported number of casualties is expected to rise as the Turkish army has formed a security cordon around the blast site.

“Many soldiers are severely injured,” the Kurdish sources said.

Netherlands-based Kurdish Firat News Agency (ANF), a close associate of HPG, reported the same number of casualties on Thursday but detailed the number of those who were in a critical condition.

“Three of the other eight wounded soldiers are in critical condition,” ANF report said.

The Turkish authorities could not be reached for comment. Turkey's leading secular media Hurriyet Daily News reported the same death toll, but different injury toll on Wednesday.

“At least four soldiers were killed immediately while nine wounded soldiers were transferred to the Hakkari Military Hospital for treatment,” Hurriyet Daily News report said.

For more details on the blast, Hurriyet Daily News reported, “The blast occurred during the passage of two armored army vehicles at 2:05 p.m., around 70 kilometers from the center of the Şemdinli district of Hakkari.”

Turkey’s southeast has been scorched by violence since a ceasefire between the PKK and the government collapsed last July. Round-the-clock curfews were instituted in parts of the southeast.

A top UN official recently deplored Turkish government's military abuses in the Kurdistan of Turkey, stating that more than 100 people were burned to death while sheltering in basements in Cizre.

Reporting by Hisham Arafat

Editing by Ava Homa