Turkish PM: Suspects in killing of three soldiers detained

PM Davutoğlu announces the capture of suspects in the murder of three soldiers who were gunned down in an apparent retaliatory attack The suspects in the killing of three Turkish soldiers in Hakkari’s Yüksekova district have been detained on the basis of evidence collected in the case so far, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has announced.

“The persons who are suspected of being responsible for the incident according to the evidence have been detained,” Davutoğlu said before leaving Istanbul for Ankara Oct. 27.
 
Three soldiers were killed in a gun attack by masked assailants in the middle of the afternoon on Oct. 25 while walking in Yüksekova. After photos showing the soldiers’ bloodied bodies spread online, authorities issued a ban on footage and photos.

Thousands of mourners gathered at the funerals of the fallen soldiers Ramazan Gülle, Ramazan Köse and Yunus Yılmaz yesterday in their hometowns.

 â€œAs we have always said, the resolution process is not an alternative to the public order,” Davutoğlu said in a reference to ongoing talks with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to find a peaceful solution to the decades-long Kurdish issue.

Anyone that would consider the peace process as a weakness of the state would be stopped, Davutoğlu said. “This is what happened at the attack on the dam.”

On Oct. 23, three members of the PKK were killed by security forces in the eastern province of Kars. Clashes erupted when four militants reportedly attacked a hydroelectric power station in the Kağızman district, raising suggestions that the soldiers’ murders might be a retaliatory attack.

A shooter who allegedly helped kill the three off-duty...