Blast rocks southern Turkey, authorities say two PKK militants nabbed

Duvar English

Turkey's southernmost province of Hatay was rocked by an explosion on Oct. 26 and authorities said that two militants of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) were nabbed following the blast.

Hatay Governor Rahmi Doğan said in a press conference that security forces were chasing two militants, one of whom was "neutralized," which is a word used by Turkish authorities when a militant is either killed or wounded, in İskenderun.

"An explosion took place then. There are no casualties," Doğan told reporters, adding that there were injuries at the site.

The militants were spotted by authorities at a security checkpoint in the Payas district earlier on Oct. 26, the governor said.

The explosion caused significant damage to cars and shops, state-run Anadolu Agency reported. Earlier, it said police, fire service rescuers and medical teams were dispatched to the area.

The governor said the two militants were a part of a group of four militants who had flown from the Syrian town of Manbij to the Amanos Mountains in Hatay using paramotors.

Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu commented on the incident, congratulating security forces for apprehending the militants.

"Bravo our heroes. We have them both. We'll tell its story," Soylu tweeted on Oct. 26.

Aferin kahramanlarımıza ???

İkisi de elde

Hikayesini anlatacağız #İskenderun

— Süleyman Soylu | Maske? Mesafe↔️ Temizlik? (@suleymansoylu) October 26, 2020

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has commented on the explosion in Hatay, saying that Turkey "will continue it struggle against terrorism within and beyond our borders."

"Turkey is no longer a country that can be designed, directed and occupied with such attacks. With God's permission and our security forces' efforts, we will continue our struggle against terrorism and its supporters within and beyond our borders," he tweeted.