Sun Sep 13, 2015 12:06:49
At least two Turkish police officers have been killed and five others injured in a car bomb attack blamed on militants of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the country’s southeast, security sources say.
Turkish security officials said the PKK militants blew up a car bomb near a police checkpoint in the Sirnak Province early on Sunday.
Following the attack, the Turkish air force targeted PKK’s positions in a mountainous area in Sirnak, killing two militants.
The new developments came a day after the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) voiced support for Ankara’s military campaign against the Kurdish militants.
“We believe that we all have the right to defend ourselves specifically against terrorism and terrorist groups,” said NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe Gen. Philip M. Breedlove in Istanbul, adding, “So we stand with our Turkish brothers in this respect.”
The PKK has been fighting for an autonomous Kurdish region inside Turkey since the 1980s. The conflict has left tens of thousands of people dead.
There has been renewed conflict between the PKK and Turkish security forces since July when Turkey began launching airstrikes against purported Daesh targets in Syria as well as PKK positions in Iraq after a Daesh bomb attack left 32 people dead in the southeastern Turkish town of Suruc on July 20.
A shaky ceasefire between Anakara and the PKK that had stood since 2013 was declared as null following the Turkish military campaign; Press TV reported.
string(2841) "[{"id":"1725320","sort":"3409200","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2015/07/31/alalam_635739525123050427_25f_4x3.mp4","title":"Turkey’s F-16s Attack PKK Positions in Northern Iraq + Video"} ,{"id":"1725346","sort":"3409199","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2015/07/31/alalam_635739581775737604_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Three Killed in Suspected Turkey PKK Attacks"} ,{"id":"1725618","sort":"3409198","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2015/08/01/alalam_635740451246015251_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"260 PKK Members Killed in Turkish Air Raids"} ,{"id":"1725928","sort":"3409197","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2015/08/02/alalam_635741280849576627_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"PKK Blamed Attack killed 2 Police,Wounded 24 Others + Video"} ,{"id":"1726993","sort":"3409196","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2015/08/06/alalam_635744720689042427_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Turkey Appoints New Army Chief amid Military Campaign against ISIL, PKK"} ,{"id":"1727900","sort":"3409195","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2015/08/09/alalam_635747427342749054_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Turkey: Airstrikes Kill 400 PKK Members"} ,{"id":"1728370","sort":"3409194","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2015/08/11/alalam_635748941973276251_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Turkey Strikes 17 PKK Targets in Southeast: Army"} ,{"id":"1732004","sort":"3409193","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2015/08/23/alalam_635759492747291411_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Turkish Soldier Killed in PKK Attack in Eastern Region"} ,{"id":"1732864","sort":"3409192","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2015/08/26/alalam_635762001497784839_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Turkish Air Force Kills 34 PKK Militants"} ,{"id":"1733441","sort":"3409191","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2015/08/28/alalam_635763801681037416_25f_4x3.mp4","title":"5 Killed in Clashes between Turkish Forces, PKK Fighters"} ,{"id":"1733444","sort":"3409190","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2015/08/28/alalam_635763804335482834_25f_4x3.mp4","title":"PKK Supporters Rally in Istanbul against Crackdown on Kurds + Video"} ,{"id":"1734952","sort":"3409189","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2015/09/02/alalam_635768072410100922_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"PKK Attacks Kill 1 Turkish Policeman, Injure 2 Soldiers"} ,{"id":"1736304","sort":"3409188","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2015/09/06/alalam_635771559511535859_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"2 Turkish Police Killed in Suspected PKK Attack in Diyarbakir"} ,{"id":"1736520","sort":"3409187","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2015/09/07/alalam_635772279618366713_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"15 Turkish Soldiers Killed in PKK Attack"} ,{"id":"1736856","sort":"3409186","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2015/09/08/alalam_635773128132467993_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"50 Turkish Jets Launch Wave of Airstrikes Against PKK"} ,{"id":"1737484","sort":"3409185","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2015/09/10/alalam_635774971034951070_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"1 Turkish Police Killed, 3 Wounded In PKK Attack"} ]"