Update on PKK Violence (September 1-7, 2009)

UNCLAS ANKARA 001333 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PTER PREL PGOV TU IZ SUBJECT: Update on PKK Violence (September 1-7, 2009) REF: ANKARA 1304 and previous ¶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 September 1-7, 2009, no security official was killed or injured. The total number of security force casualties for the year through September 7 was 41 killed and 73 injured. ¶3. (U) During the same period, two PKKers were captured in Balikesir and Sanliurfa provinces on September 5 and 7. According to official TGS website figures, through the first week of September the number of PKK militants killed and injured this year was 36, the number of those captured was 44, and the number of those who surrendered was ¶87. ¶4. (U) During the reporting period one civilian died when he stepped on a PKK IED in Diyarbakir province on September 4. The PKK kidnapped four citizens in Hakkari and Hatay provinces on September 1 and 4. The total number of civilian casualties for the year through the end of the first week of September was 11 killed and 22 wounded. SILLIMAN