Bomb Explosion and Shooting in Southeast Turkey Leaves Several Dead

On Sunday, April 12, a bomb explosion in the city of Gaziantep, located in southeastern Turkey, resulted in the death of one police officer and injuries to 23 others. On the same day, an attack in the Mardin province of Turkey led to the killing of three soldiers and injuries to 14 more. According to AFP, the bomb that exploded in Gaziantep, near the Syrian border, was planted in a vehicle, and gunfire was heard following the explosion. Ali Yerlikaya, the governor of Gaziantep, told reporters that one police officer was killed in the explosion, and of the 23 injured, 19 were also police officers. Gaziantep, with a population of 1.5 million, is one of the major cities in southeastern Turkey and has been a primary center for Syrian refugees in recent years. No group has claimed responsibility for the explosion yet; meanwhile, it appears that on Sunday, coinciding with International Workers' Day and gatherings of leftist groups in Turkey, the country's security forces were put on high alert. On the same day, the Dogan news agency reported an attack by militants on Turkish soldiers in the Nusaybin district of Mardin province, attributing responsibility to members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). In this attack, which involved rocket fire on an army ammunition depot, one soldier was killed and 14 others were injured. The Turkish army has recently conducted operations against the PKK in Nusaybin, accompanied by a nighttime curfew. These developments come six days after Cemil Bayik, the head of the PKK's leadership council, stated that the Turkish president has intensified the war against the PKK and that the PKK is also prepared to escalate its struggle against the Turkish government and defend itself 'to the end.' Bayik emphasized that the PKK is 'not only ready to increase its struggle in Kurdistan but also prepared to intensify its war throughout Turkey.' Since the ceasefire between the Turkish government and the PKK was violated last year, Turkish state forces have launched a severe campaign against the PKK in the southeast of the country. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated this month that in recent battles, 355 Turkish security personnel and over 5,000 PKK members have died; although these figures have yet to be independently verified.