Turkish army firmly denies claims on deadly PKK military post attack
Güncelleme Tarihi:
The Turkish military said no flaws were found in its actions during the bloody PKK attack in early October on a military post, Land Forces Commander Isik Kosaner told reporters on Monday. (UPDATED)
The army had opened an investigation into the attack on Oct. 3, which left 17 soldiers dead, after some media reports suggested the military was informed on the PKK's plans prior to the incident.
The allegations included alleged footage recorded and sent by unmanned aircraft to the army headquarters and an intelligence report saying a strategic hill directly across from the post was conquered by the terrorists before it was re-taken by the Turkish soldiers.
Kosaner firmly denied the reports, citing the findings of the investigation opened on the allegations.
"As a result, the military units positioned in Bayraktepe carried their mission with a superior courage and defended their positions at the risk of their own blood and lives. The terrorists were not able to find an opportunity to collect their “fellows” bodies. Bayraktepe was not left to the terrorists," Kosaner was quoted as saying by the state-run Anatolian Agency.
A controversial Turkish daily, Taraf, had published a footage recorded and sent by unmanned aircraft to army headquarters showing PKK terrorists preparing for the attack on the military post in Aktutun.
Contrary to the reports, the people shown in the footage were farmers, Kosaner told reporters on Monday. He also provided details of the incident.
"This terrorist action targeting Bayraktepe is an almost suicide attack for the separatist terror organization. If you analyze every stage of the incident, you would see that the preparations and the implementation is in line with military techniques and tactics," he added.
The number of personnel posted at the military installation at the time of the attack was sufficient, he added.