PKK martyrs security officer in eastern Turkey

By Abdullah Celik and Sarp Ozer

BINGOL, Turkey (AA) - A Turkish security officer was martyred Tuesday after an anti-terror operation against the PKK in the eastern province of Bingol.

Security sources told Anadolu Agency that Mehmet Kocdag, 28, succumbed to his injuries in a hospital in the province’s Genc district.

Kocdag was heavily wounded by terrorists.

The operation in the area is ongoing.

Separately, on Monday Turkish fighter jets conducted airstrikes in rural areas of the eastern province of Tunceli and the northern Iraqi region of Zap.

Turkish jets killed five PKK terrorists and destroyed two PKK shelters and weapon and ammo depots, the Turkish General Staff said in a statement.

The shelters and depots were in northern Iraq, while the five PKK terrorists were killed in a rural area of eastern Turkey’s Tunceli province.

The Turkish army is patrolling the area.

The fighter jets returned to their bases after the airstrikes.

The PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and the EU – resumed its decades-old armed campaign in July last year.

Since then, PKK terrorist attacks have martyred more than 700 security personnel and also claimed the lives of many civilians, including women and children, while nearly 8,000 PKK terrorists were killed in army operations.