Two AK Party deputy district heads killed in PKK terror attacks in eastern Turkey


PKK terrorists killed two deputy district heads of the Justice and Development (AK) Party in Turkey's southeastern Diyarbakır and eastern Van provinces, reports said Saturday.

The two deputy heads were killed in two separate incidents.

AK Party Deputy District Head Orhan Mercan was shot in an armed attack in front of his house by armed PKK terrorists in Diyarbakır's Lice district.

He was immediately taken to Lice Hospital for treatment but succumbed to his injuries, AK Party district head Ismail Demir said.

His body will be transferred to Diyarbakır for autopsy, reports said.

Initial findings point to the PKK being the perpetrator of the attack, Demir noted.

In a separate incident, PKK terrorists abducted Aydın Ahi, AK Party Deputy Head of the Özalp district of the eastern Van province, from his home.

More than 10 bullets reportedly landed on Ahi's body before he died.

Police have launched an investigation to capture the perpetrators.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by the U.S. and the EU, resumed its nearly 40-year armed campaign against the Turkish state in July 2015, unilaterally violating the cease-fire.

Since then, over 600 security personnel, including troops, police officers and village guards, have died in PKK attacks, while more than 10,000 terrorists have been killed during anti-terror operations across Turkey and northern Iraq, according to the defense ministry.