Two members of a social support group helping senior citizens during the coronavirus pandemic have been killed in an armed attack by terrorists in Turkey's eastern province of Van, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said on Thursday
ANKARA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th May, 2020) Two members of a social support group helping senior citizens during the coronavirus pandemic have been killed in an armed attack by terrorists in Turkey's eastern province of Van, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said on Thursday.
Earlier in the day, the provincial authorities said that gunmen had attacked a car carrying aid workers who were returning from nearby villages after helping those in need, in the Ozalp district of the province at 12:00 p.m. local time (09:00 GMT).
"Two employees of a social support group, who helped our citizens [during the pandemic], were killed. No matter what terrorists do, they will be defeated," Soylu wrote on Twitter.
The authorities blamed the attack on members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), designated by Ankara as a terrorist group.
Ankara has long been fighting the PKK, which seeks to establish a Kurdish autonomy in Turkey. Along with combating the group in Turkey, the authorities also often conduct cross-border operations in Iraq and Syria. Though the PKK and Ankara signed a ceasefire agreement in 2013, it collapsed just two years later over several terror attacks allegedly committed by PKK militants.
