Four police officers were killed in an ambush, which was laid by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, in the southeastern province of Mardin on Thursday.
PKK terrorists detonated a remote-controlled bomb, which was previously planted on road, while a police car was travelling through the province's Dargeçit district. A report said the police officers were on their way to respond a school fire, ranged by PKK terrorists at around 6 am.
Dargeçit police chief İbrahim Halil Aksoy died immediately after the explosion caused the armoured police car to leap into the air. The 45-year-old slain police chief was married and father of two.
The other victims, who died in the blast, were identified as police officers, Akif Hatunoğlu, 29, Mehmet Hüseyin Balta, 31 and Ahmet Akalın, 22.
The armoured vehicle was badly destroyed in the explosion. Bodies of slain police officers were taken to an hospital in the province for a post-mortem operation.
Security forces launched an operation in the region to seize the PKK members who were involved in the attack.
Elsewhere in Turkey, In Istanbul, police forces from the Organized Crime Intelligence Division raided several addresses early Wednesday.
Special operation forces were also engaged in the dawn raids, which were launched simultaneously. Police swooped down on an address in the Beyoğlu district as part of the operation, backed by an armored police car.
The motive for the raids has not been officialy disclosed.
The police search is still underway in the suspected addresses.
