Turkey’s fighting with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) shows no signs of letting up today, with new attacks in the border province of Sirnak leaving at least five police and one soldier killed and a number of others wounded nationwide.
The biggest attack killed four police officers in southeastern Sirnak, a roadside bomb. The soldier was also killed in the same area when gunmen, apparently PKK, opened fire on a military helicopter he was flying in.
The last police officer killed died in clashes near a police station in Istanbul in the northwest of the country. There was a bombing at the station that wounded 10, and gunmen attacked in the wake of the bombing. Three of the 10 wounded were identified as police.
Turkey attacked PKK bases in northern Iraq late last month, ending over two years of ceasefire with the group, during which there had been a failed effort to negotiate a permanent peace. Since then, both sides have talked up escalation, and made clear they view the other side as at fault for the collapse.