Militants hit Turkish airport, no casualties

ISTANBUL: Kurdish militants launched a rocket-propelled grenade at a civilian airport in southeast Turkey on Sunday, causing minor damage and no injuries, officials and the state-run news agency said.

HT Image

Rebels linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, were apparently targeting a police checkpoint at Diyarbakir Airport, the Anadolu Agency said.

Passengers were taken to safety after the attack and flights resumed after a brief pause during the police investigation.

Windows at the VIP passenger entrance were damaged, the Diyarbakir governor’s office said, adding that a search for the perpetrators had been launched.

Violence between the PKK and the security forces resumed last year, after the collapse of a twoyear peace process in July. Since then, more than 600 Turkish security personnel and thousands of PKK militants have been killed, according to Anadolu.

Rights groups say hundreds of civilians have also been killed in the clashes. In another attack, five civilian village guards were wounded Sunday in the southeastern province of Siirt after their van hit an improvised explosive device planted on a road, Anadolu said.