ANKARA: An improvised bomb attack on a military vehicle killed two soldiers in southeast Turkey on Saturday, with state media blaming Kurdish separatists.
The blast came in the province of Batman, according to the Anadolu news agency, which said the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) was behind the attack.
Turkey was already in mourning on Saturday for a 15-year-old killed by PKK militants on Friday in the northeastern city of Trabzon.
Kurdish-dominated southeast Turkey has been hit by near-daily violence since the conflict between the PKK and the government flared up in 2015, ending a fragile cease-fire.
The PKK, which has waged an insurgency inside Turkey since 1984, is classed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the EU and the US.
Also on Saturday, police arrested three men suspected of carrying out murders on behalf of Daesh.
Police conducted simultaneous operations in the southeastern provinces of Sanliurfa and Gaziantep as well as eastern Malatya province.
Polcie said the three men were thought to have been part of a “Daesh execution team.”
The counter-terror operations followed an investigation into a drive-by shooting of a Syrian national in Sanliurfa last month. The gun used in that attack was found on the suspects.
The suspects used chats in phone gaming applications to communicate with Daesh members, according to private Dogan news agency.
The men were thought to have been planning attacks on people working against Daesh.
Kurdish separatists blamed for killing of soldiers
Kurdish separatists blamed for killing of soldiers
Israel detains Al-Aqsa imam as PA warns of escalation during Ramadan
- Israeli authorities have prohibited 250 people from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque since January
- Knesset member Amit Halevi called for Jewish prayers at the site during Ramadan
LONDON: Israeli authorities detained Sheikh Mohammad Al-Abbasi, the imam of Al-Aqsa Mosque, from within the mosque’s courtyards as 222 settlers stormed the site on Monday.
The Palestinian Authority warned of an Israeli escalation at the Al-Aqsa compound in the walled city of occupied East Jerusalem, ahead of and during the fasting month of Ramadan, which starts this week.
The Jerusalem Governorate reported that Israeli authorities have prohibited 250 people from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque since January. This week, they prevented the Jerusalem Endowments Council from preparing for Ramadan by blocking the installation of umbrellas for sun and rain protection, and the setup of temporary clinics, according to Wafa news agency.
The governorate also condemned the visit of Israeli Knesset member Amit Halevi to Al-Aqsa Mosque on Sunday, accompanied by Israeli police. It said that Halevi’s incursion was part of a provocative tour with the “Temple Mount Administration,” amid rising Israeli calls to change the reality at Al-Aqsa Mosque and alter the historic status quo.
Halevi advocated continuing what he described as “Jewish prayers” at the site during the month of Ramadan, Wafa added.
The governorate also reported that Israeli forces issued a six-month ban on freed prisoner and Al-Aqsa Mosque guard Fadi Alyan from entering the mosque.
