Snippers of foreign nationality among PKK says Turkey

               Snipers of foreign nationality were among those killed fighting for the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party(PKK) in Southeast Anatolia against government forces, Turkish claimed.

There have been foreign snipers. That is true as our prime minister said. However, media reports citing snipers from the nationality you’ve stated are all speculation and baseless. We do not disclose information about their nationalities,” Turkish Interior Minister Efkan Ala said Feb. 2 when asked to comment on several media reports in several dailies that cited a counterterrorism operation which allegedly killed a Serbian sniper hired by the PKK in Cizre, a district in the southeastern province of Şırnak.

No information was disclosed on the nationalities of foreign snipers taking into account the sensitive Nature  in regard to the country’s foreign policy, Ala said.

"We do not reveal information on nationalities of militants/ snipers killed in the region.The situation in Syria speaks for itself. There may be infiltration to Turkey from there. We take necessary measures for border security, but arrests may come after illegal crossings. We sometimes make statements taking into account our foreign policy, however, there is no ground to make that kind of statement at the moment,” Ala said

The official statement by Ala came hours after the daily Vatan reported that a Serbian sniper linked to the PKK was killed and another captured alive in Cizre, claiming at least five other hit men are currently operating in southeastern Turkey. 

Last week, a reporter for state news agency Anadolu Agency posted a picture of a purported Serbian sniper in the southeast, but the photo turned out to be a picture of American actor Terence Jay from the movie “Green Street Hooligans.”

Another alleged Serbian sniper was captured and brought to the Şırnak Police Department Counterterrorism Unit for interrogation, the daily said.

“Many foreign snipers were identified during the operations,” Davutoğlu told reporters during his official trip to the Saudi capital of Riyadh.

Daily Vatan also reported a claim by security expert Mete Yarar, alleging that a similar case recently took place in another district of Şırnak.



HURRIYET DAILY NEWS