The terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has been targeting mosques in southern Turkey, has attacked Fatihpaşa mosque (Kurşunlu Mosque) in Diyarbakır province on Monday.
The historic mosque, located near the murder scene of prominent lawyer Tahir Elçi, was set on fire by PKK militants in Sur district, the scene of heavy clashes between terrorists and security forces.
The 16th century mosque, which was built between 1516 and 1520, in the time of Diyarbakır Governor Bıyıklı Mehmet Paşa.
The mosque was also used as a base by the PKK until an operation conducted by the security forces on November 12.
The PKK earlier damaged the same mosque with gunshots on September 7.
Residents in eastern Turkey cannot go to the mosques due to attacks such as the most recent one.
The Fatihpaşa Mosque attack was not the first attack organized by the PKK on a mosque. On October 3, several mosques were damaged during PKK militant attacks in the province of Şırnak's Beytüşşebap.
The PKK terrorists entered Şeyh Ismail Mosque, in the province of Siirt on November 1 and used the mosque as an ammunition depot.
Several rocket launchers, 8 anti-personnel rocket heads, 7 anti-tank rocket nozzles, 15 propulsion engines, a large number of bullets and 4 walkie-talkies were seized during the operation.
Hacı Şemsettin Yusma Mosque, in the province of Mardin, was among the mosques used as ammunition depots.
Dozens of PKK supporters attempted to force their way into a Turkish mosque in northwestern Germany in September 2015.
Again in Germany, PKK terrorists attacked a mosque in the Kornwestheim town of Baden-Württemberg State and its social complex on August 7. The mosque belongs to the European branch of the Turkish-Islamic Union. The militants broke the windows of the social complex building belonging to the mosque and left graffiti on the walls which read "PKK and YDG-H."
The PKK is an armed militant group that has been carrying out terror attacks mostly in southeastern Turkey, since the early 1980s. Since then, more than 40,000 people have died.
In 2013, Turkish government launched the 'Peace Process' to end years of armed conflict with the PKK and build reforms regarding the constitution. However, the PKK ended the ceasefire on July 11.
The group is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, NATO, the US, and the EU.
