A bomb attack by PKK terrorists hit the district governorate building of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in the Muradiye district of southeastern Van province early Tuesday.

Speaking to the press after the attack, AK Party Muradiye district head İbrahim Vanlı said they escaped greater danger as no one was in the building during the attack, which occurred around 3 a.m. "We were informed about the attack half an hour after it happened. The people who were working at that time in the bakery behind our building said that they heard the explosion, but could not see the perpetrators," he said.

Vanlı recalled that the district head of the party's youth branch was also attacked a while ago. "Like we said there, we say now. They are not the representatives of the Kurdish people. They cannot suppress a political party with bombs or other means," he concluded.

The PKK terrorist organization has introduced a new strategy in recent months, assassinating political figures and public servants in the southeast who refuse to obey their terror policies. This comes after the organization's attempts to carry the war into urban areas collapsed because of successful anti-terror operations and the lack of cooperation from the people in the region.

Deceased PKK member identified as senior terroristOne of the PKK terrorists recently killed in an anti-terror operation in eastern Tunceli province has been identified as, Umut Hocaoğlu, who was listed in the "blue category" on Turkey's most wanted terrorists list.

Hocaoğlu, whose code name was "Agit Amed," was killed in the operation that begun on Nov. 7 and lasted three days. Known as the "head of Tunceli" of the PKK, the government had placed a TL 1.5 million lira bounty on his head.