PKK terrorists target civilians, kill father and injure son in Mardin province

A civilian and a soldier have been killed and another has been injured on Wednesday by a group of PKK terrorists, who carried out attacks in southeastern Mardin and Diyarbakır provinces.

According to reports, PKK terrorists attacked Mahmut Kanat's house –located in Mardin's Ovabaşı district- with long-barreled weapons and shot Kanat and his son.

Both victims were brought to Ömerli Hospital, but Mahmut Kanat succumbed to his injuries.

Security forces have launched an operation to arrest the terrorists who fled the scene of the incident.

Sergeant Mehmet Ali Sarak, 25, came under fire from PKK terrorists with automatic rifles while on his way to his army base in the Silvan district of Diyarbakır.

According to reports, Sarak, who was in civilian clothing when he was shot, died instantly, and a security operation was then launched to track down the assailants.

PKK terrorists have also attacked the Hizan District Gendarmerie Command in Bitlis, as well as court houses and police residences in Tunceli and Elazığ provinces.

Separately Turkish war planes on Wednesday carried out a new barrage of cross-border airstrikes against Kurdish terrorists in northern Iraq, destroying munitions depots and caves used by the PKK, the army said.

The Turkish government has intensified its counterterror operations following the recent attacks carried out by the PKK, which is recognized as a terrorist organization by the U.S., the EU and Turkey.

Formed in 1978, the terrorist group has been fighting the Turkish government for an independent state until the early 2000's. The group then shifted its goal to autonomy in predominately Kurdish inhabited regions of Turkey.

The PKK announced on July 11 that the cease-fire which was declared via a message from the PKK's imprisoned leader Abdullah Öcalan in 2013 has ended.

Turkish security forces have arrested hundreds of people with suspected links to ISIS, the PKK, and leftist groups, detaining over 1,300 people across the country, according to a recent statement released by the Prime Minister's Office.

The Turkish Air Force has been carrying airstrikes against the PKK in northern Iraq and the ISIS terrorists in northern Syria.

According to military sources, 261 terrorists were killed in Turkey's airstrikes against PKK's hideouts and camps in northern Iraq.