HPG Press Center stated that the attack on the 7 person Iranian unit on the border area near Doğubeyazıt on December 4 had been carried out by Turkish soldiers.

HPG said they launched an extensive investigation after the attack and that the Turkish side’s claims that PKK carried out the attack do not reflect the truth.

HPG Press Center’s (HPG-BİM) statement includes the following:

News accounts have been published that on the day of December 4, 2017 at approximately 16.00, there was an attack on a 7 person Iranian group of 4 soldiers and 3 civilians who were engaged in activity on the border between Turkey and Iran. In this attack, 1 Iranian soldier had lost his life and 1 soldier and 2 engineers had been wounded. The AKP media swiftly served up this story as a PKK attack. Following these accounts, as the result of an investigation by our side, it has come to light that the guerrilla unit in the area on said date had carried out an action against Turkish soldiers, and the Turkish soldiers shot the Iranian unit in retaliation. The news accounts that our guerrillas carried out the attack on the Iranian unit are completely false. The Iranian unit has been shot at by Turkish soldiers. As a result of our extensive and detailed investigation, it has come to light that the incident transpired as follows:

ATTACK CARRIED OUT BY TURKISH SOLDIERS

In our statement dated December 5, 2017, we had announced that on December 4 at 15.30, our guerrilla forces carried out an action against the invading Turkish army attempting to ensure security for the border wall built on the border near the Tujik Outpost in the Bazid (Doğubeyazıt) district of Ağrı, and that a Panzer type armored vehicle and soldiers exiting said vehicle had been targeted, resulting in 7 Turkish soldiers’ deaths. As a result of our investigation, we have found that the Turkish army attempted an attack on the border for retaliation following this action by our guerrilla forces. During a fog at around 16.00, the Turkish army hit the Iranian unit after targeting them on the border between Turkey and Iran. This attack by the Turkish soldiers has resulted in the death of 1 Iranian soldier while 2 engineers and another soldier were wounded.

Immediately after the attack, Turkish state officials attempted to put the blame of the attack on the Kurdish Freedom Movement by issuing statements like ‘Shots came from the Iranian side’ to camouflage the attack by their own soldiers. Turkish state officials, attempting to cover their own mistakes, have rushed to explain that they brought the wounded Iranians to their own hospitals and treated them, and that they have nothing to do with the incident. Hurried news accounts that were served to the public are completely a product of the fascist Turkish state’s black propaganda.

AKP MEDIA SHOULD NOT BE HEEDED

This incident has shown once again that the AKP media should not be heeded regarding any developments. There is a ruthless war in progress in Kurdistan, and the most truthful information about all incidents during this period is provided by our movement.