2 civilians killed, AKP official injured in PKK attacks in eastern Turkey

HAKKARİ / TUNCELİ

Miran Kaya, a local official from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the Hakkari province

At least two people were killed on Sept. 5 in separate attacks by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants in Turkey's eastern provinces, official security sources have told state-run Anadolu Agency.In the first incident, militants reportedly blocked the Tuhi Bridge on the Şemdinli-Yüksekova highway near the village of Yufkalı in the southeastern Hakkari province late Sept. 4. They stopped two vehicles and set them on fire after forcing their drivers out.Celal İnan, driver of the pick-up truck that was passing by, tried to escape but was killed when militants shot at his car with long-barreled weapons, according to officials.Miran Kaya, a district official from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) who was travelling in the truck driven by İnan, was injured in the attack.Security forces launched a wide-scale operation in the area to apprehend the assailants.Meanwhile, a woman, who was critically wounded during a PKK attack on a police station in the eastern Tunceli province on Sept. 4, died at Tunceli State Hospital.According to hospital sources, 32-year-old Ayten Günhan succumbed to her wounds at the intensive care unit on Sept. 5.Her body was sent to Malatya Forensic Medicine Institute for autopsy.The attack is the latest in a litany of violence that has swept eastern Turkey since the collapse of a ceasefire between the PKK and the government in July.Late Sept. 4, clashes between Turkish security forces and PKK militants intensified in a number of southeastern towns.A curfew was ordered in the Şırnak province's Cizre district, where unconfirmed reports said there have been several casualties in fierce clashes.The Şırnak Governorate issued a written statement on Sept. 5, noting that the curfew was extended.The statement said security forces were dispatched in Cizre to remove ditches and barricades on the town's streets that PKK militants reportedly placed bombs and mines inside.