With spread of IS-like tactics, urban warfare in Turkey grows bloodier
Turkish officials believe Kurdish militants leading clashes in the southeast have learned techniques used by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units and the Islamic State in Kobani.
In the middle of heavy clashes Feb. 19 between Turkish security forces and groups affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in Diyarbakir’s Sur district came news that a building had collapsed. Three special forces soldiers in the building were killed. Official statements did not make clear what happened.
Security sources, however, told newspapers that the building had collapsed when a booby trap exploded.
The incident reminded observers of another on June 25, when Mishtenur Hospital, which had been held by the Islamic State, was blown up by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) with all the people in it.
The techniques used were similar. But where had the Feb. 19 attackers learned these tactics? The force involved was the PKK’s youth wing, the Civil Defense Units (YPS) — previously known as the Patriotic Revolutionary Youth Movement.
