Soldier, policeman killed, teachers kidnapped in wave of PKK attacks

One soldier was killed, a policeman was shot in his head at a hospital, and two teachers were kidnapped yesterday, in what appears to be a wave of attacks by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

PKK militants mounted simultaneous attacks on the Şehit Mehmet and Gökçek gendarmerie outposts in Nazımiye district of the eastern province of Tunceli at around 9 p.m. Militants attacking under cover of fog and rain killed a soldier at the Şehit Mehmet outpost and injured seven others, including an outpost commander, a lieutenant. One of the heavily injured soldiers was taken to Elazığ State Hospital in a helicopter.

Policeman murdered

Police officer Tuncay Akyüz was on guard duty in the emergency room of the Regional Study and Research Hospital in the eastern province of Van, when a suspected PKK militant approached Akyüz from behind and fired a single shot at his head at around 10 p.m. The militant fled the scene, taking Akyüz' pistol with him.

Doctors immediately attended to Akyüz but were unable to save him. Akyüz was married and had a three-month-old baby.

Public prosecutor Murat Uzun was killed in a similar execution-style attack last week in the province of Tunceli. Two suspects thought to be connected to the killing of the prosecutor were sent to a court in Malatya today.

Two teachers were also kidnapped by the PKK yesterday on the road between the provinces of Muş and Diyarbakır in the east after militants halted their vehicles at around 5 p.m. An operation was launched to rescue the teachers.

Meanwhile, four PKK militants were captured in Muş in a separate operation launched after the killing of a non-commissioned officer on Sept. 21. Security forces discovered a militant hideout as the operation continued.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.