Four Turkish soldiers killed in southeast
31 08 2009Four Turkish soldiers were killed on Sunday in a clash with Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, terrorists in the southeastern province of Hakkari, the army said.
A noncommissioned officer and three sergeants were killed in the clash near the district of Şemdinli in Hakkari province, the military said in a statement posted on its Web site.
Provincial Gov. Muammer Türker said the terrorists hurled a hand grenade at troops returning from a security sweep of rural ground near Şemdinli.
He said the military then launched an operation backed by airpower.
The PKK attack came on Turkish national holiday Victory Day, on which Turkey marked its victory over Greece in the 1919-1922 Independence War.
It also coincided with the Turkish government’s recent efforts to resolve the Kurdish issue.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said the attack aimed to block the government’s Kurdish initiative.
“I see this attack as an attempt to axe, to prevent the democratic opening process,” Erdoğan told reporters in the capital Ankara.
“The democratic project is underway … It is not possible for us to stop in spite of those who are trying to prevent us,” he said, adding that the struggle against the PKK would be pursued with vigor.
Source: Hurriyet Daily News
URL: www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=four-turkish-soldiers-killed-in-southeast-2009-08-31
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