Two soldiers killed, 31 injured in PKK suicide attack in Turkey's east

Two soldiers were killed and 31 injured Aug. 2 in a suicide attack by outlawed Kurdistan Workers? Party (PKK) militants in the eastern province of A?r?.

PKK militants attacked a gendarmerie station in Do?ubeyaz?t in the A?r? province, close to Turkey?s border with Iran, with a tractor laden with a two-ton bomb around 3 a.m.

The injured soldiers were taken to a local hospital while the PKK militants staged an ambush to prevent reinforcements and medical teams from reaching the station. Eight soldiers, who were critically wounded, were also transferred to Erzurum with military helicopters. 

Four of the 31 soldiers injured in the attack on Karabulak Gendarmerie patrol in which PKK militants also used rifles were in life-threatening condition, Turkish general staff said in a statement on Aug. 2. Operations are ongoing on the Do?ubayaz?t-I?d?r highway, which closed to traffic after the attack, in order to find the militants. 

Specialized sergeant Ali Gökçe, 35, who was killed in the attack, was laid to rest in western province of Osmaniye on Aug. 2 following an official ceremony held in Ka??zman district of Kars.

The attack came a day after one soldier was killed and seven were injured in a separate PKK attack in the Midyat district of the southeastern province of Mardin. The attack took place on Aug. 1, when a mine exploded as a military vehicle was passing by. The vehicle, carrying several soldiers, was travelling in Midyat?s ?enköy and Gelinkaya neighborhoods as part of a mission to protect the Kirkuk-Yumurtal?k pipeline.

Gendarmerie Commando Private Bar?? Akkabak, 20, who died in the mine explosion, was laid to rest in the Serik district of Antalya after an official military ceremony, held in Midyat.