UPDATES WITH STATEMENT BY HATAY GOVERNOR; CHANGES DECK
By Lale Koklu Karagoz and Burak Milli
HATAY, Turkey (AA) – Ambulances and police squads were dispatched to the Iskenderun district of Turkey's southern Hatay province after an explosion shook the town center on Monday evening.
The blast hit the town's Fener Street, which was closed to traffic after the incident.
Hatay Governor Rahmi Dogan said on Twitter that there were no casualties due in the incident.
He said the explosion took place shortly after security forces neutralized one of the two suspected terrorists, whom they had pursued.
The operation is ongoing, he added.
Late on Monday, Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said the two terrorists involved in the explosion were neutralized.
Following Soylu's announcement, Dogan held a press conference, detailing anti-terror operations against PKK terrorists in the region.
“As of today, the PKK terrorist organization has been destroyed in the Amanos region and there are no [members] of the PKK terrorist organization left," he said.
Mt. Amanos — also called Mt. Nur — is known to be used as a hideout by the YPG/PKK terror group.
In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK — listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US, and the EU — has been responsible for the deaths of nearly 40,000 people, including women, children and infants. The YPG is the PKK’s branch in Syria, just across Turkey's southern border.
