Soldier succumbs to wounds at hospital in Ankara

By Huseyin Haskan

MERSIN, Turkey (AA) - A soldier, who was battling for his life following a car bomb attack in southeastern Batman province last week, succumbed to his wounds at a hospital in Ankara on Friday, according to a hospital source.

On June 9, PKK terrorists had opened fire on one of the mayors in Batman province that ended up in the death of a 22-year-old female music teacher; another civilian was also injured. Later on the same day, a PKK terrorist involved in the attack on the mayor blew up his car when security forces intercepted him at a gendarmerie station, leaving two soldiers and a civilian wounded.

Ali Gulnar, 34, was one of the two soldiers who had been wounded in the June 9 blast. He was taken to the Gulhane Training and Research Hospital in the capital after the attack where he breathed his last on Friday, according to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media.

The other soldier wounded in the incident had died earlier.

More than 1,200 people, including security force personnel and civilians, have lost their lives since the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and the EU -- resumed its decades-old armed campaign in July 2015.