Security forces foil PKK attack in SE Turkey

Plans by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) to attack commemoration ceremonies marking the 80th death anniversary of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk were foiled by Turkish security forces in the southeastern province of Şırnak.

Model planes loaded with explosives were destroyed by security forces. The devices were to be used in terror attacks targeting the governorate building and military areas.

One of the neutralized devices fell to the garden of the governorate building.

No loss of life was caused during the operation.

Commemoration ceremonies are held across Turkey on Nov. 10 to mark the death anniversary of Atatürk, who passed away in Istanbul on Nov. 10, 1938, at the age of 57.

Atatürk made his mark in the military in 1915 when he led forces to repel the allied invasion in Çanakkale, known in the West as the Dardanelles.

Following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire after the World War I, Atatürk led the Turkish War of Independence, which defeated European powers. When he became president, Atatürk transformed the former empire into a modern and secular country.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union and the United States, planned to attack various ceremonies commemorating Atatürk’s death. The PKK has been conducting armed violence in the southeastern part of Turkey since 1984. More than 40,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the three-decade long conflict.