PKK claims responsibility for deadly attack on Turkish police building

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) on Thursday shouldered the deadly attack on a building housing Turkish police earlier this week, identifying two of its members who exploded themselves during the attack.

The Turkish interior ministry said on Tuesday that two PKK members, identifying one of them as Dilsah Ercan (codenamed Zozan Tolan), attacked a building housing police in the Mezitli district of Mersin province the previous day. A police officer was killed and another injured. 

People’s Defence Forces (HPG), the armed wing of the PKK, said in a statement on Thursday that two of its members carried out the attack on Turkish police, denying the involvement of Tolan in the “ self-sacrificing action,” reported the PKK media.  

The attack was carried out by two female fighters, Sara Tolhildan and Ruken Zelal, who “fired at the enemy first with a pistol and then with automatic weapons… After the battle with the enemy forces, they lured the enemy to them and set off the prepared explosion,” read the statement.

HPG claimed that the Turkish intelligence service is “weak” for failing to identify the perpetrators. 

Tolhildan’s real name was Dilara Urper. She was born in Sirnak province, southeast Turkey (Northern Kurdistan) while Zelal’s real name was Emel Feremez who was from the Kurdish city of Qamishli in northeast Syria (Rojava), according to the HPG. 

Turkish security forces have arrested several PKK suspects since Monday, according to state media. 

PKK is an armed group struggling for the increased rights of Kurds in Turkey. Ankara considers it a terrorist organization and targets it at home as well as in Iraq and Syria.