Tag Archives: Turkey

Turkish leaders accused Syria and Iran of supporting the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has intensified its campaign in southeast Turkey after taking over dozens of villages in northern Syria this summer. Security forces shot a suspected PKK suicide bomber near Sanliurfa.

Fighters from the Kurdistan Workers Party attacked checkpoints in Beytussebap near the border with Iraq and Syria, killing 10 members of Turkish security forces and injuring seven more. About 20 militants have been killed in the clash, which is ongoing. The militant group has increased its attacks since the outbreak of the Syrian conflict.

Turkey’s proposal for the creation of a humanitarian safe zone for civilians inside Syria received no support at the UN. Already about 80,000 Syrians have fled to Turkey. Turkey intends to continue to press its proposal at the UN and also with Russia and Iran.

A remote-controlled car bomb exploded near a police station in the border city of Gaziantep, killing at least eight people and wounding 64 more. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the blast.

Suspected PKK militants ambushed a military bus in Izmir province on the Aegean coast, killing one soldier and wounding at least 11 other people. Turkish officials accuse the Assad government in Syria of arming the PKK.

An explosion in Mardin province near the Syrian border damaged a pipeline that carries oil into Turkey from Iraq; the pipeline will be closed for up to 10 days. Kurdish militants from the PKK are suspected of sabotage in the blast.

The military’s recent offensive against PKK rebels in Hakkari province near the Iraqi border has killed 115 PKK fighters. Government forces are trying to block PKK escape routes into northern Iraq. The PKK also has a presence in Syria.