Update on PKK Violence (July 24-31, 2008)

UNCLAS ANKARA 001452 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PTER PREL PGOV TU IZ SUBJECT: Update on PKK Violence (July 24-31, 2008) REF: ANKARA 1345 and previous (U) Sensitive but unclassified - please protect accordingly. ¶1. (SBU) This is another in a series of weekly reports on PKK violence in Turkey. Our primary source is the Turkish General Staff (TGS) website, which documents contacts and clashes with the PKK, as well as casualties incurred. ¶2. (U) During the July 24-31, 2008 reporting period, five security officials were killed, including two in clashes and three by IED. Four security officials were injured, including three in clashes and one by an IED. The total number of security force casualties for the year through July 31, 2008, was 63 killed and 98 injured. ¶3. (U) During the same period, two PKK terrorists were killed in clashes. Six PKKers were captured and three surrendered. According to official TGS website figures, through the fourth week of July, the number of PKK militants killed this year was 554, the number of those captured was 118, and the number of those who surrendered was ¶92. ¶4. (U) The IEDs placed by the PKK claimed the lives of five civilians -- two in Lice, Diyarbakir Province on July 24, and three in Semdinli, Hakkari Province on July 27. Three additional civilians were injured, including two by the IED in Lice, and one in clashes in Koyulhisar, Sivas Province on July 31. The TGS website noted that one civilian was kidnapped for ransom by the PKK in Kigi, Bingol Province on July 24. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Interior and the Istanbul Governor were quoted as blaming the PKK for two bomb explosions that left 17 people dead and 154 people injured in the Istanbul suburb of Gungoren on July 27. Despite accusations from GOT officials, there was media speculation about who might actually have carried out these attacks, and the PKK denied responsibility. The total number of civilian casualties for the year through the end of the fourth week of July, including the Gungoren bombings, was 40 killed, with another 225 wounded. SILLIMAN