PKK kills 26 security members, injures 22 in Hakkari terror attacks

PKK kills 26 security members, injures 22 in Hakkari terror attacks

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Twenty-six members of the Turkish security forces were killed and 22 were injured in the southeastern province of Hakkari early on Wednesday in simultaneous attacks carried by the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

Terrorists attacked several military and police buildings in the Çukurca district and Hakkari's city center and 26 soldiers and police officers were killed. At least 22 soldiers were also wounded when the terrorists opened fire on military outposts in Çukurca and Yüksekova districts in Hakkari province on the border with Iraq, the sources said. The attacks reportedly occurred simultaneously. Hakkari Governor Muammer Türker confirmed the attacks in the predominantly Kurdish province of Hakkari but gave no further information about casualties. Earlier, the sources said 21 soldiers had been killed but later raised the toll. Turkey's armed forces could not be immediately reached for comment. The PKK did not immediately claim responsibility for the attacks. Reuters said citing military sources that Turkish commandos crossed into northern Iraq in hot pursuit of the terrorists after the Hakkari attacks. It was the deadliest PKK attack in several years. Around 100 terrorists were believed to have participated in the attacks, according to TRT television. The terrorists fled to northern Iraq at dawn after nearly four hours of intense fighting as Turkish military shelled their escape routes, NTV television said.