4 dead in bomb attack in SE Turkey

By Soner Kilinc

SIRNAK, Turkey

At least four people have been killed in southeastern Turkey in an improvised bomb attack Monday.

Explosives were detonated by terrorists as an armored police vehicle passed in Silopi district of Sirnak province, the governor's office has confirmed.

Civilians Isa Torlak, Ekrem Birlik, Davut Yoksul, and four-year-old Halime Birlik were killed in the attack, which left 23 people wounded, including five police officers, military and police sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said.

Six people were critically wounded, hospital sources said.

The injured were taken to Silopi State Hospital as police launched an anti-terror operation in the region.

Several houses and vehicles were also damaged in the attack.

Earlier Monday, a police officer, who was injured in an anti-terror operation against the PKK, also succumbed to his wounds at Sirnak Military Hospital, police sources said.

The city has seen a number of terror attacks and counter-terrorism operations of Turkish security forces since the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and the EU – resumed its 30-year armed campaign against the state in July 2015.

Since then, around 500 security personnel, including troops, police officers, and village guards, have been martyred, and over 4,900 PKK terrorists killed in operations across Turkey and northern Iraq.