Two soldiers abducted by outlawed PKK in Turkey's east

Two soldiers have been abducted by outlawed Kurdistan Workers? Party (PKK) militants in eastern Turkey amid the upsurge in violence in recent months, which has seen scores of security personnel and civilians killed in attacks.

The militants abducted the two soldiers heading to their military post in the eastern province of Tunceli in a public bus, in a road connecting Tunceli city with its Pülümür district on Oct. 2, the Turkish General Staff said in a written statement on Oct. 3.

Turkey has seen a rise in violent attacks by the PKK and other deadly incidents in the east and southeast, which have left a large number of security personnel and civilians dead.

Peoples? Democratic Party (HDP) co-chair Selahattin Demirta? posted a photo showing an armored vehicle dragging a dead body on the ground with a rope tied around its neck, on his Twitter account on Oct. 4, saying the photo was shot on Oct. 2 in the southeastern province of ??rnak. 

Widely shared on social media, the photo was retweeted by more than 15,000 Twitter users alone.

Daily Cumhuriyet reported that the dead body dragged on the ground was that of Hac? Lokman Birlik, 24, the brother-in-law of HDP ??rnak deputy Leyla Birlik. 

Birlik, an amateur actor, was killed in clashes that erupted during an operation conducted to fill in trenches in ??rnak?s Dicle neighborhood that had been dug by locals to protect themselves from attacks by the police and the army.

Turkey?s Interior Ministry said in a written statement on Oct. 4 that an investigation had been launched into the photo and shared by tens of thousands of people on the internet.

?The claims will be investigated thoroughly,? the ministry said.

Turkey is continuing its military...