PKK target security forces in two attacks; no casualty

Members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, opened fire on armored police vehicles carrying special operation forces in the southeastern province of Tunceli earlier on Thursday.

The governor's office said that the armored vehicles came under fire on their way to the No:4 military post in the central part of the city. Special operation forces responded with heavy fire to the attack. No casualty has been reported.

A wide-scale operation was launched to seize the PKK terrorists, who were involved in the attack on the first day of the Muslim holiday; the Feast of Sacrifice.

Somewhere else in the Kurdish southeast, PKK terrorists opened fire on the 2nd Border Battalion Command in Tekeli village standing on the border with Iraq and Iran, with long-barrelled guns. No military casualties were reported.

The attack, launched at around 8 a.m. near the district of Şemdinli, has prompted immediate retaliatory fire from the border post. The PKK terrorists were armed with a rocket propelled grenade launcher and other weapons, according to local sources. An operation was launched to seize the PKK terrorists, who are still on the run.

As the Turkish military announced the launching of further strikes on PKK bases in northern Iraq, seven PKK members handed themselves in, while 4 others were caught elsewhere in the Turkey's southeastern.

Turkish air forces launched airstrikes on the PKK targets, used as weapons ammunition storage, shelters and bunkers, said Turkey's Chief of Staff on its website.

Seven terrorists, who escaped from PKK bases in northern Iraq, turned themselves in to the border forces at Habur crossing, according to the statement, released on the official site of Turkey's Chief of Staff.

Four terrorists were also seized in different locations in Turkey's southeast. Two PKK terrorists were seized along with two guns and two hand grenades during the raids, targeting suspected terror hideouts in Nusaybin town, Mardin.

One PKK terrorist, armed with an automatic rifle, was caught in Uludere town near the southeastern province of Şırnak, while an unarmed PKK member was seized in Hakkari, another regional province.

In recent months, the separatist group has intensified its attacks targeting both security officers and civilians in the main Kurdish provinces. The PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization in Turkey, EU and the US, ended a 2-year-long ceasefire in early July and resumed its terror incidents. Officials said Turkey's retaliatory operations will continue until PKK terrorists law down weapons or leave the country.