DIYARBAKIR, Turkey
Police have been targeted in two southeastern Turkish provinces, leaving at least 10 policemen injured in explosives attacks and one officer kidnapped late Friday, officials said.
In the first incident, a Turkish police officer was kidnapped in southeastern Diyarbakir province allegedly by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) group Friday, police said.
Police officer Vedat Kaya was kidnapped when he was heading from Mardin to Mus with his family on the Diyarbakir-Bingol Highway, police said.
The PKK members allegedly stopped his car and kidnapped him after learning that he was a police officer. His family was let go, police added.
In a separate incident, at least seven police officers were injured in a hand grenade attack in Diyarbakir's Bismil district.
The attack took place at the districts' police department.
The injured were taken to Bismil State Hospital. Police have launched an investigation into the incident.
Also, at least three Turkish policemen were injured in a bomb attack in eastern Hakkari province on Friday.
According to preliminary reports, a hand-made explosive targeted police in the province’s Semdinli district that left at least three personnel injured, including one in critical condition.
The critically-injured police officer was taken to the Yuksekova State Hospital for medical treatment.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
The Kurdish-populated Hakkari province has recently seen many attacks from the outlawed Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) members.
Security forces have launched an investigation into the incidents.
The PKK is listed by Turkey, the U.S. and EU as a terrorist organization.
Since the early hours of Friday, a total of 297 suspects, including at least 37 foreigners, have been detained across Turkey in a nationwide anti-terrorism operation.
Many of those detained are thought to be linked to groups like Daesh, the PKK and its youth wing, the DHKP-C.
The operations came after a major escalation in tensions in Turkey's southern border region, including a suicide bomb attack, which killed 32 people on Monday and the killing, two days later, of two police officers in the same region.
On Friday, Turkish F-16 fighter jets hit three Daesh targets in Syria in the morning. Turkish jets carried out the operation without violating the Syrian airspace, according to a statement by the Prime Ministry.
Anadolu Agency website contains only a portion of the news stories offered to subscribers in the AA News Broadcasting System (HAS), and in summarized form. Please contact us for subscription options.
