DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, 4 June 2006 — Two Kurdish guerrillas have been killed in a clash with troops in Turkey’s southeast, a security official said yesterday. The clash occurred on Friday night in a remote district of Bingol province as troops combed the mountains for guerrillas after two privates were injured by a Land mine planted by the rebels, he said.
In recent months, Turkish security forces have stepped up operations against the rebels, many of whom cross into Turkey from northern Iraq as the mountain snows melt in the spring. Three soldiers and three village guards have been killed in two separate clashes with the rebels in the past week in provinces to the southeast of Bingol near the Iraqi border.
A small bomb went off in a shopping district in the Turkish Mediterranean port city of Mersin yesterday, slightly injuring 14 people including a police officer, the governor said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Radical Kurdish, Islamic and leftist militants are active in Turkey.
The explosion was caused by a remote controlled bomb in which an explosive device was connected to a mobile telephone, said Gov. Huseyin Aksoy according to Dogan News Agency. “The culprits will be captured and turned over to justice as soon as possible,” Aksoy said.
Similar bombs recently have been used by Kurdish militants in several attacks across Turkey. Yesterday’s blast shattered the windows of several stores including some jewelry shops and damaged an ice cream stall, but apparently did not cause severe damage, footage from Dogan News Agency showed.
The footage showed a man injured in the leg moaning as he waited for an ambulance. Most people were apparently injured by flying glass and they were reported to be in stable condition. Police cordoned off the explosion site. Mersin is some 450 kilometers south of Ankara, the Turkish capital.
Meanwhile, Turkey’s powerful military yesterday chided the police for not informing military authorities about the detention of two officers along with civilian suspects who were allegedly planning an attack on Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The military issued a written statement saying the detention of the officers on May 30 was learned from the media the next day. The military statement sharply contradicted police who said Friday that “there were no problems with the military,” and they were “working in harmony.”
The two officers apparently were turned over to the military following their interrogation and the military separately detained a third officer said to be related to the group. Six civilians were also arrested in the operation.
