Turkish general held for blast that killed soldiers

Sun, 07 Nov 2010

Istanbul - An army general has been arrested as the mastermind of a landmine explosion that killed six soldiers in south- east Turkey 18 months ago, media reports said Sunday.

Authorities initially believed the banned separatist Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) was behind the May 27, 2009 blast that wrecked a military vehicle.

In the meantime, a tape recording has been found in which General Zeki Es gave orders for the mine to be planted in the province of Hakkari, the reports said.

The general was taken into military custody after his involvement became known.

The blast occurred at a time when new efforts were under way to resolve Turkey's conflict with its Kurdish minority.

Following the explosion, the Turkish air force conducted air strikes against suspected PKK bases across the border in northern Iraq.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/352388,general-blast-killed-soldiers.html.