TURKEY-ATTACKS/SOLDIERS Eight soldiers killed in southeast Turkey bomb attack - military

Record ID: 143427

  • Title: TURKEY-ATTACKS/SOLDIERS Eight soldiers killed in southeast Turkey bomb attack - military
  • Date: 19th August 2015
  • Summary: CIZRE, TURKEY (AUGUST 19, 2015) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF HELICOPTER FLYING OVER THE MOUNTAINS VARIOUS OF A FOREST FIRE IN A MOUNTAINOUS AREA MORE OF A HELICOPTER FLYING VARIOUS OF SMOKE RISING FROM THE MOUNTAINS VARIOUS OF ARMOURED MILITARY VEHICLES ON ROAD MILITARY VEHICLES ENTERING BASE SILVAN, DIYARBAKIR, TURKEY (AUGUST 19, 2015) (REUTERS) POLICE IN PLAIN CLOTHES ON TOP OF AN APC CROWD GATHERED ON HIGHWAY TO ENTER TOWN POLICEMAN ASKING THEM TO WAIT VARIOUS OF POLICE BLOCKING THE ROAD (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) SPOKESWOMAN FOR WOMEN ACTIVISTS, EVRIM KURDOGLU, SAYING: "Entrance to the town is not allowed. We are prevented from entering the town. We were not allowed to go there despite all our efforts. We hear that severe fighting is underway in the town but we cannot get sound information unfortunately." POLICEMEN IN PLAIN CLOTHES ASKING FOR ID TO A DRIVER IN A VAN WITH A BULLET TRACE ON ITS WINDOW ARMED YPG-H (YOUTH WING OF PKK) MILITANTS UNDER A TREE ARMED YPG-H MILITANTS DOING ID CHECK ON ROADS VARIOUS OF ARMED MILITANTS IN TOWN ARMOURED POLICE VEHICLE ENTERING NEIGHBORHOOD VARIOUS OF AREA WITH AUDIO OF GUNFIRE PAN FROM PEOPLE TO DAMAGED STORES MAN NEXT TO A DAMAGED CAR BULLET TRACES ON DAMAGED CAR DAMAGED VAN
  • Embargoed: 3rd September 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Turkey
  • Country: Turkey
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA2XCZSMDUA5XYJH36MSNA0O8AC
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Eight Turkish soldiers were killed in a bomb attack on their vehicle by Kurdish militants in southeast Turkey on Wednesday (August 19), the military said, intensifying conflict after the breakdown of a two-year ceasefire last month.
    Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants planted explosives on a highway in the province of Siirt and detonated them around 1110 GMT, the general staff said in a statement, as security forces clashed with the PKK across the mainly Kurdish southeast.
    Security sources said PKK fighters had killed four Turkish soldiers in clashes in Diyarbakir province since Tuesday (August 18) as a peace process launched by the state and the group's jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan in 2012 unravelled.
    On Wednesday (August 19) police blocked the highway to Diyarbakir's Silvan district as activists attempted to travel to the town where authorities have been imposing a curfew at nights for the past two days.
    "Entrance to the town is not allowed. We are prevented from entering the town. We were not allowed to go there despite all our efforts. We hear that severe fighting is underway in the town but we cannot get sound information unfortunately" a spokeswoman for the activists, Evrim Kurdoglu said.
    Armed YPG-H (youth wing of PKK) militants were seen milling around in Silvan on Wednesday, setting security checkpoints and doing ID check on roads. Audio of gunfire was heard from the town as police separately detained four mayors from an affiliate party of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) in two districts of Diyarbakir over recent statements declaring autonomy from Ankara, the party said.
    The conflict comes amid heightened political uncertainty in Turkey, which appears to be heading for a snap election after the collapse of coalition talks.
    The PKK, designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and European Union, launched its insurgency against the state in 1984 and more than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict.
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