18 December 2016•Update: 20 December 2016
By Orhan Canbulatel and Esma Kucuksahin
KAYSERI, Turkey
The bodies of seven soldiers martyred in Saturday’s suicide car bomb attack in central Kayseri province were handed over to their families following a memorial service on Sunday morning.
A moment of silence was also observed at the memorial service held at the 12th Air Transportation’s main base command in Kayseri.
Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu, Chief of General Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar and Minister of Environment and Urban Planning Mehmet Ozhaseki also attended the service alongside MPs, public officials and mayors.
The terror attack on Saturday morning targeted a public bus transporting off-duty soldiers, leaving 14 soldiers martyred and 56 others injured. So far, seven bodies have been identified.
Across the country, memorial services were being held for the martyred soldiers.
Speaking to the private news channel NTV in Istanbul Saturday, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said all signs point towards the involvement of the PKK terrorist group in the Kayseri attack.
Erdogan said on Saturday: “The terror attacks in Turkey are not separate from what is happening in the region, especially Syria and Iraq.
"Terror attacks target all 79 million citizens together with soldiers and police. Turkey is under the threat of attacks by terrorist groups, especially the separatist terrorist organization is trying to do its best to block Turkey’s progress.”
The PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and EU -- resumed its decades-old armed campaign in July last year. Since then, more than 300 civilians and nearly 850 security personnel have been martyred. Around 9,000 PKK terrorists have been killed or apprehended.
