Türkİye

Erdogan vows to make PKK pay for killing soldier's baby

President attends funeral of Turkish soldier's baby, wife who were martyred by PKK terror group in southeast Turkey

Faruk Zorlu, Meryem Göktaş  | 01.08.2018 - Update : 02.08.2018
Erdogan vows to make PKK pay for killing soldier's baby Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (C) attends funeral ceremony of AK Party's Nigde Deputy Ismail Goksel at Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) in Ankara, Turkey on August 1, 2018. ( Cem Öksüz - Anadolu Agency )

Ankara

By Meryem Goktas, Serhat Zafer and Merve Topuz

SIVAS, Turkey

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday said PKK terrorists would "pay for the massacre" of a Turkish soldier's baby and his wife who were killed by a roadside bomb planted by PKK terrorists.

Nurcan Karakaya, the wife of the solder, and her 11-month-old baby boy Bedirhan Mustafa Karakaya were martyred on Tuesday when a roadside bomb planted by PKK terrorists exploded in southeastern Turkey's Yuksekova district.

The mother died on the spot, while the 11-month-old succumbed to his wounds at the Yuksekova Public Hospital.

"They [PKK terror group] will pay for the massacre," Erdogan said at the funeral service of the martyred mother and her baby in Sarkisla district in central Sivas province.

The president conveyed his condolences to the martyred mother's husband and family members at the ceremonial ground. 

Erdogan reiterated his firm stance in the fight against terrorism, saying "the fight against terrorism will last until the last terrorist".

"No one has the right to disturb the peace of this nation," he added.

On the death penalty law, the president said he would approve it if it passes the parliament.

"The whole point [of death penalty law] is that when it comes to the parliament, there is no such thing as disapproving; I will approve it when it passes the parliament," he said.

Also, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu, National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, Social Services and Family Minister Zehra Zumrut Selcuk attended the funeral ceremony.

The PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU -- has been responsible for the death of some 40,000 people in its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey.

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