HAKKARI, Turkey
Five people have been detained on Sunday over the shooting of three soldiers in the Turkish eastern province of Hakkari, security officials have said.
The three soldiers were killed on Saturday afternoon by two masked men while they were in the town center dressed in civil clothing, Interior Minister Efkan Ala told reporters on Saturday.
Sergeant Ramazan Gulle and Private Officers Yunus Yilmaz and Ramazan Kose were on duty in Hakkari province’s district of Yuksekova.
Special security forces have raided multiple places on Sunday morning in connection with the ongoing investigation.
Deputy Prime Minister Yalcin Akdogan described the shooting of "civil clothed, unarmed" people as "the biggest cowardice."
Akdogan also said the PKK was having a "panick attack" and accused it of disrupting the solution process, which was launched two years ago.
The "solution process" is an effort launched by the Turkish government two years ago to bring an end to the decades-long conflict with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, U.S., EU and NATO.
"The state will hold the murderers of those soldiers accountable," he vowed and added that no compromises will be made on public order and security.
Nearly 40 people died in violent protests earlier this month, mainly in the heavily Kurdish-populated southeastern provinces and mostly due to street clashes between rival groups.
The protests broke out due to the alleged inaction of the Turkish government with regards to the ISIL besiegement of the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani, which is located near the Turkish border.
In a similar attack, three policemen in Bingol province were shot on Oct. 9, leaving two dead.
The alleged perpetrators were killed in armed clashes with security forces following the attack.
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