35 Turkish soldiers killed in Tatvan, Bitlis

35 Turkish soldiers killed in Tatvan, Bitlis –

ANF News – HPG guerrillas carried out effective actions on the anniversary of the August 15 Initiative. 35 soldiers died in an action conducted by guerrillas against Bilika guard post in Tatvan district of Bitlis.

Guerrillas carried out effective actions in commemoration of their recently martyred comrades and in response to the Turkish state’s ongoing aerial activities, operations and attacks that aim to escalate the war.

In its written statement, HPG Media Center noted that guerrillas blocked the road in the Şapata region of Hakkari’s Şemdinli district between 17:00 and 18:00 on August 15, and informed the passing by civilians on the anniversary of the August 15 Initiative. Turkish army tried to enter the region with armored vehicles, but was met with guerrilla response from four different directions. HPG said one police of special operations forces died during the clashes that continued until 19:00, and refuted the news regarding four guerrillas lost in these clashes.

HPG stated that guerrillas also blocked the road in Pire Merduşa area located between Şemdinli and Yüksekova districts at 19:30 on August 15, and has been controlling the road between Gevriya Civiyan and Bezelê on the border of Zagros region for the past 12 days.

ACTION AGAINST BEROX GUARD POST WITH HEAVY WEAPONRY

Guerrillas carried out an action against Berox guard post in the Şemzinan district of Hakkari at 07:00 on August 15, and the number of dead or injured soldiers has not yet been clarified. Turkish army bombed the region with artillery, scouted the area with drones between 09:00 and 15:00, and warplanes bombed the region between 11:00 and 12:00.

HPG guerrillas stopped 30 vehicles on the road between Perwari and Çatak at 14:30 on August 15, and informed the passing by civilians on the anniversary of the August 15 Initiative until 20:00.

Turkish army bombarded Besta region from the Çelê Nımêja guard post in Botan between 11:30 and 12:00 on August 15, and caused a forest fire in the area that still continues.

Guerrillas carried out an action against Werdıkê guard post in Mardin’s Kerboran district on the anniversary of August 15, which left 4 soldiers killed and the barracks in front of the guard post destroyed.

Guerrillas stopped 60 vehicles on the road between Şaxo and Perwari at 07:00 on August 16, and informed the passing by civilians on the political process. Guerrillas have been controlling the blocked road since this morning.

HPG guerrillas carried out an action against the barracks in the Gendarme Organized Palace barracks and one soldier died during the clashes that lasted 15 minutes. Guerrillas also acted against the Gendarme Artillery Battalion in Amed’s Lice district, and the nearby surveillance cameras were completely destroyed during the action carried out with rifles and B-7 rocket propellers. The number of dead or injured soldiers has not yet been clarified.

COMPREHENSIVE ACTION IN TATVAN DISTRICT OF BİTLİS

HPG reported that guerrillas carried out an action against Bılıka guard post in Tatvan district of Bitlis at 05:00 on August 14, and destroyed 2 mountain vehicles, 8 watch towers, 2 dozers, 6 vehicles and the entire guard post with the blast of a vehicles with 2 tons of explosives. HPG announced that all of the 35 soldiers in the guard post were killed, and the army evacuated soldiers’ bodies with 5 ambulances and one large morgue vehicle. HPG added that ambulances retrieved 20 bodies and the morgue vehicle carried 15 bodies, and the army removed the wreckage of the guard post with construction vehicles and put up curtains around the post in order to prevent any filming attempts.

Guerrillas checked ID on the road between Bitlis and Hizan between 19:00 and 21:30 on August 15, and have been controlling this road since August 12.

Guerrillas from the Martyr Berxwedan and Martyr Fuat units blocked the road between Kanireş (Karlıova) and Çewlik (Bingöl) at 08:00 on August 15, and informed the passing by civilians on the political process. Turkish army bombarded the area with Cobra helicopters and deployed soldiers with Sikorsky helicopters after holding the entrances to and exists from the district around 13:40.

A sabotage action by guerrillas targeted a convoy of the Turkish army that came to the scene for intervention after the bombardment. In the action which was conducted in memory of the HPG members martyred in Amed, guerrillas hit and destroyed an armored vehicle, which left a group of nine soldiers made up of officers and specialist sergeants dead. Another armored vehicle and a Sikorsky helicopter in the area were also hit with heavy weaponry.

The activity of Turkish UAVs over the area continued till 23:00 at night and helicopters hit the scene following the action by guerrillas.

In another action targeting a construction site in Dıdırê town of Ağrı’s Patnos district at 21:30 on August 15, guerrillas burnt down nine lorries and a petroleum office belonging to the mayor.

Guerrillas took control a road between Patnos and Van’s Erçiş district from 21:30 to 22:40 on August 15, performed ID checks and informed the people about the process.

A base station of the private Turkcell GSM operator in Geliyê Zilan area was destroyed by guerrillas at 00:30 on August 15.

SABOTAGE ACTION AGAINST NATURAL GAS PIPELINE

The natural gas pipeline between Iran and Turkey was targeted by a sabotage action of guerrillas in Kalus area near Bazid district of Ağrı at 01:00 on August 14. The action didn’t cause a fire due to the suspension of the gas flow in the pipeline.

After encircling the Korxan guard post in Iğdır on August 14, guerrillas killed 5 soldiers in 5 assassination actions at 15:00 on August 15. Four other soldiers were killed as guerrillas further hit the guard post with heavy weapons. While the road and access of water and electricity to the guard post were blocked in the action, Turkish troops at the post shelled the surrounding areas till evening hours. Casualties were transported from the scene in helicopters between 21:30-22:00.

Turkish UAVs flew over Çemçe area between 07:00 and 10:00 on August 16.

For the last three days, Turkish army dispatched Special Operations Teams from Erzurum’s Şenkaya district to Ardahan’s Göle district, and also deployed units in guerrilla uniforms around the village of Bağaverdi in Şenkaya.

ACTION AGAINST HIGH-VOLTAGE TRANSMISSION LINE IN İSKENDERUN

A sabotage action by guerrillas targeted the high-voltage transmission line in İskenderun district of Hatay on August 13. A Turkish military unit sent to the scene for intervention was also targeted by guerrillas, yet the number of casualties couldn’t be verified.

After blocking a road between Dersim and Elazığ from 20:40 to 22:00 on August 15, guerrillas performed ID checks, spread propaganda to the people and burnt down a truck belonging to a private company.