UPDATES WITH PERSON SUCCUMBING TO HIS WOUNDS; CHANGES HEADLINE;DECK; LEDE ADDS STATEMENT OF TURKISH GENERAL STAFF
By Sayim Harmanci and Muhammed Boztepe
ANKARA/HAKKARI, Turkey (AA) – A Turkish soldier and a civilian were martyred and three others injured in an attack by PKK terrorists in southeastern Hakkari province, the governorship announced Tuesday.
In a statement, the Hakkari Governor’s Office said the soldier was martyred from wounds sustained in a cross-border PKK attack on a base zone around Mt. Guven in Cukurca district.
A work machine operator suffering injuries in the attack succumbed to his wounds.
The cross-border attack was carried out by the PKK terrorists with two guided missiles thrown from the Iraqi side of the Turkish border, it added.
Investigations on the incident continue.
Meanwhile the Turkish General Staff said on Twitter that at least three armed terrorists were “neutralized” by airstrikes carried out in northern Iraq’s Avasin-Basyan region on Monday.
Turkish authorities often use the word “neutralized ” in their statements to imply the terrorists in question either surrendered or were killed or captured.
The PKK — listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU — has been responsible for the death of some 40,000 people in its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey.
