DIYARBAKIR, Turkey
A doctor was killed in Turkey's southeastern Diyarbakir province late Monday by militants of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), district governor said.
Militants had blocked the main road between the districts of Kulp and Lice near the village of Yaprakli, aiming to conduct identity checks on passing vehicles and reportedly distribute PKK propaganda, officials said.
Abdullah Birol, a doctor, was on his way from Kulp to Diyarbakir when he reached the road blockade. He reportedly tried to escape but was killed when the militants shot at his car with long-barreled weapons, according to officials.
Security forces were dispatched to the crime scene and have launched an operation in the region to catch the attackers.
Operations against the PKK -- listed as a terrorist group by Turkey, the EU and the U.S. -- came after it renewed attacks on Turkish security forces in the aftermath of the July 20 Suruc bombing that claimed the lives of 34 people.
More than 60 members of the security forces have been martyred in the violence, while Turkey says land and air operations in Turkey and northern Iraq have killed more than 900 militants.
