PKK claims suicide attack on Turkey-Iran pipeline killing 30 Turkish soldiers

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – At least 30 Turkish soldiers were killed when a Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) fighter launched a suicide attack on a pipeline in Agri province near the Iran-Turkey border on Tuesday, the group claimed in a statement. 

The attack was carried out by Sema Kocer, a 25-year-old PKK fighter, in Dogubeyazit at around 5am on Tuesday, a statement published by ANF news agency said.

Turkish officials have not confirmed the cause of the attack or the number of casualties. According to the PKK, "at least 30" Turkish troops died, and “dozens” were injured. It also claimed five armored vehicles were destroyed.

Turkey’s defense ministry issued a statement shortly after the explosion saying “a terrorist was neutralized in an operation carried out by the border units [guards] in Agri/Dogubeyazit after members of the separatist terrorist organization of the PKK tried to enter our country from Iran,” the statement read. 

The Turkish government uses the term “neutralized” to denote death, injury, or capture.

It did not mention Turkish casualties.

The Turkish troops were guarding a gas pipeline, which was damaged in the attack, disrupting Iranian gas exports to Turkey.

Mehdi Jamshidi-Dana, director of National Iranian Gas Co., confirmed the damage to the pipeline and said exports would resume following repairs.

“The damaged part of Iran’s gas export pipeline to Turkey will be repaired within the next few days,” he said, according to Mehr News. 

The pipeline carries around 10 billion cubic meters of natural gas each year. This is not the first time it has been targeted by the PKK.

Turkish state broadcaster TRT Haber shared footage of the aftermath of Tuesday’s attack. It said the cause of the blast is currently under investigation. 

Sema Kocer, the alleged attacker, is the nom de guerre of Rewshen Askara, who was born in Siirt province in 1995 and joined the ranks of the PKK in 2014, according to the group's statement.

The PKK is an armed group fighting for greater political and cultural rights for Kurds in Turkey. Its decades-long war with the Turkish state has resulted in more than 40,000 deaths on both sides. The PKK is regarded as a terrorist organization by Ankara and its Western allies.

Turkey routinely launches land and air operations against the group at home, in the Kurdistan Region, and in Iraq’s disputed territories of Shingal and Makhmour. It also attacks Kurdish forces in northern Syria, accusing them of ties with the PKK.

Ankara launched Operation Kapan 8 on March 13 covering Agri, Kars, and Igdir provinces. The latest phase of the operation involves 1,012 troops. 

The first phase was launched on January 11 in the southeastern province of Mardin.

A ceasefire came into effect in 2013 during the short-lived peace process, which lasted until July 2015 when the talks collapsed.

Since then, 4,825 people have been killed, including 2,859 PKK fighters, 1,229 Turkish soldiers, 489 civilians, and 226 people of unknown affiliation, according to ICG figures, last updated March 5.