Turkey’s Diyarbakir Airport attacked by rockets, no casualties

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – Kurdish rebels on Saturday were suspected of firing rockets at Diyarbakir Airport located in southeastern Turkey, according to Turkish media reports.

Four rockets targeted a police checkpoint outside the VIP lounge of the airport, where passengers and staff were immediately taken to the terminal building for their safety, Turkey’s Dogan news agency said.

There were no casualties, and no cancellation of flights, the Diyarbakir Governor Hussein Aksoy told Turkish NTV news channel.

Turkish media claimed that the attack had been conducted by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) members.

However, the group has not officially announced responsibility for the violence.

Diyarbakir is a Kurdish-majority province where the PKK fighters have waged a three-decade insurgency against the Turkish government.

The attack followed Turkey’s recent military incursion into northern Syria that aimed to push back the so-called Islamic State (IS) and prevent the Kurdish fighters in the area from making territorial gains.

Diyarbakir Airport mainly handles domestic flights, and it is served by carriers including Turkish Airlines.

The PKK is labeled a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union, and the United States.

The group has waged decades of war in Turkey’s southeast against the government since 1984 where about 40,000 people, mostly Kurds, have died.

Both sides reached a ceasefire in the past years but following the Turkish election in July 2015, the clashes restarted and are ongoing.

Due to violence between the PKK and the Turkish army, thousands of people in the southeast have been displaced and forced to move to safer areas.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany