Three Turkish Soldiers Killed In Hakkari, Imperiling Peace Talks

At least one Turkish soldier and two specialized sergeants were shot dead by unidentified masked men, suspected of having links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), in Turkey's southeastern province of Hakkari on the Iraqi border.

The killing of three Turkish army personnel came several weeks after nationwide clashes between security services and pro-Kurdish protesters over Ankara's what they claim "indifference" to violence in Kobani, a key Syrian border town.

The soldiers came under attack when they were walking in Yüksekova district of Hakkari and reportedly were in civilian clothes. The wounded soldiers were taken to Yüksekova State Hospital, but doctors could not save them. The soldiers were on their way to purchase electricity equipments for a military post. Witnesses noted that the soldiers were shot dead in their head by two masked men from behind in Cengiz Topel Avenue.

Hakkari Governor Yakup Canpolat told Turkish media that soldiers Ramazan Gülle, Yunus Yılmaz and Ramazan Köse were killed outside a business center and that the authorities have launched a large-scale investigation.

The killing of Turkish soldiers also came a day after three PKK militants were killed in eastern province of Kars, in a fight erupted after the militants attacked security forces and a dam in Kağızman district.


SHOTLIST
TURKEY, HAKKARI, 25 OCT 2014

VAR of the streets of Yüksekova
Armored police vehicles
VAR of the scene
Blood on the ground

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