Turkish security forces arrested five suspects Wednesday with links to a PKK terror attack in southern Hatay province, according to judicial sources.

The suspects were nabbed in Istanbul, Sanliurfa, Adiyaman and Diyarbakir provinces.

Iskenderun Chief Public Prosecutor's Office said an investigation was initiated after an explosion occurred in the district.

Police were chasing two PKK terrorists Monday in Iskenderun in Hatay when one detonated himself and the other was killed by forces.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US, and the EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of nearly 40,000 people, including women, children and infants./aa

YEVLAKH, Azerbaijan

Azerbaijani victims injured in missile attacks Wednesday by Armenia in Barda shared their terrifying experience with Anadolu Agency.

“I was standing in front of a shop in the bazaar during the attack. Bombs rained down on us. We started to flee in panic,” said Aynure Ibrahimova, who sustained injuries to her stomach.

She received treatment at Yevlakh State Hospital.

For Intikam Agayev, the attacks were swift, leaving him no time to react.

"I was sitting in my car in the city center of Barda. Suddenly, I heard the explosion and the screams of the people around me. I was injured too,” he said.

Agayev was injured in his foot and face with shrapnel that hit the vehicle. "I could not remember how I was brought to the hospital. I opened my eyes and found myself in the hospital bed,” he said.

His cousin, Intikam, said he saw pieces of bombs falling from the air and the bazaar suddenly turned into a battlefield with everyone in a panic.

Yevlakh State Hospital Director Azer Ismailov said 26 wounded civilians, including a child, were taken to hospitals in Yevlakh and Mingachevir, Several were in severe condition.

At least 21 civilians were killed and nearly 70 others injured in the attack.

Nearly 3-decade occupation

Since clashes erupted Sept. 27, Armenia has repeatedly attacked Azerbaijani civilians and forces, even violating three humanitarian cease-fire agreements since Oct. 10.

Relations between the two former Soviet republics have been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military occupied Upper Karabakh.

Four UN Security Council resolutions and two from the UN General Assembly, as well as international organizations, demand the "immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of the occupying forces" from occupied Azerbaijani territory.

About 20% of Azerbaijan's territory -- including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions -- has been under illegal Armenian occupation for nearly three decades.

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Minsk Group -- co-chaired by France, Russia, and the US -- was formed in 1992 to find a peaceful solution to the conflict, but to no avail. A cease-fire, however, was agreed to in 1994.

World powers, including Russia, France, and the US have called for a sustainable cease-fire. Turkey, meanwhile, has supported Baku's right to self-defense and demanded the withdrawal of Armenia's occupying forces./aa

Turkey on Wednesday “neutralized” two PKK terrorists in northern Iraq during an air operation, according to the National Defense Ministry.

The terrorists were “neutralized” in the Gara region after they were detected by reconnaissance and surveillance vehicles, the ministry said on Twitter.

Turkish authorities often use "neutralized" in statements to imply terrorists in question surrendered, were killed or captured.

PKK terrorists often use northern Iraq as a base to plan cross-border terror attacks against Turkey.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US and the EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of some 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants./aa

The Armenian parliament Wednesday adopted amendments in the law that allow the government to form a "people's militia" from recruited civilians and confiscate assets in case of need.

Militia groups should be formed according to the territorial principle and they report to the heads of the local administration, according to a new reading of the law, the parliament's press service said in a statement.

The main task of the militias will be assisting "forces during martial law," it said.

The groups will be provided uniforms, weapons and will be trained in military camps.

Assets can be expropriated upon a Defense Ministry request on condition of further retributions from the government that will repay damages.

In late September, Armenia declared martial law following a new escalation in the Upper Karabakh region.

Relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan have been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military occupied Upper Karabakh, or Nagorno-Karabakh, an internationally recognized territory of Azerbaijan.

Four UN Security Council resolutions and two from the UN General Assembly, as well as international organizations, demand the "immediate, complete, and unconditional withdrawal of the occupying forces" from the Azerbaijani territory.

About 20% of Azerbaijan's territory – including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions – has been under illegal Armenian occupation for nearly three decades.

World powers, including Russia, France, and the US, have called for a new cease-fire.

Turkey, meanwhile, has supported Baku's right to self-defense and demanded the withdrawal of Armenia's occupying forces./aa

ANKARA

The Assembly of World Azerbaijanis on Wednesday condemned the attacks of the Armenian forces on Azerbaijani civilians and military units.

"Along with expelling the occupying Armenian Armed Forces from our historical lands, Azerbaijan is also clearing the South Caucasus region of separatist and terrorist forces," Elshan Yahyayev, the public relations head of a German-based assembly, told Anadolu Agency.

Instead of monitoring the implementation of the violated international law by the Armenian forces, the "external powers" try to keep Azerbaijan under "increasing pressure" from abroad, Yahyayev said.

"Of course, the aim here is to save Armenia, which cannot withstand the victorious army of Azerbaijan," he said, adding that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev "resolutely resists" all these pressures and responds "appropriately" to those who try to influence Azerbaijan by various means.

The military-political leadership of Armenia violates and ignores the norms and principles of international law, Yahyayev added, noting that Azerbaijan has witnessed it again since the clashes erupted on Sept. 27.

He also decried the footage and reports appearing on social media about Armenian children being called and volunteered for the Armenian army.

"By involving young children, the elderly, and women in the war, Armenia's military-political leaders continue their criminal activities and will undoubtedly soon become subjects of the Hague tribunal," Yahyayev said, referring to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

On Sunday, Azerbaijan, with pictures and footage proving the war crime, accused Armenia of using child soldiers in the battle over the occupied Upper Karabakh.

"Video shows that #Armenia employs #childsoldiers. Needs to be investigated. Recruiting and using children under the age of 15 as soldiers is prohibited under international humanitarian law – treaty and custom – and is defined as a #warcrime by ICC," Hikmet Hajiyev, the assistant to the Azerbaijani president, said on Twitter. 

Yahyayev stressed that involving children in the battle "grossly" violated Article 38 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted at the 44th session of the UN General Assembly on Nov. 20, 1989.

"With the blood of hundreds of thousands of people on both sides, Armenia has created an unhappy society that is backward on many sides, out of all international transport and logistics projects, in an economic and geographical siege, and with no prospects for life," he said.

He also underlined that it was "unfortunate" that international organizations turn a blind eye to Armenia's "whims and criminal behavior".

"It is their inaction that drives Armenia to new crimes," Yahyayev also said.

The Assembly of World Azerbaijanis, an international non-governmental organization, was registered in the German judiciary on Sept. 6, 2016. Prior to its registration, the organization functioned as an initiative group.

To date, the Assembly of World Azerbaijanis has been considered the first international public organization of world Azerbaijanis, according to Yahyayev. The assembly is also registered as a lobbying body by the UN Social and Economic Council, the European Commission, and the European Parliament.

Almost 3-decade occupation

Since the clashes erupted on Sept. 27, Armenia has repeatedly attacked Azerbaijani civilians and forces, even violating three humanitarian cease-fires since Oct. 10.

Relations between the two former Soviet republics have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Upper Karabakh.

Four UN Security Council resolutions and two from the UN General Assembly, as well as international organizations, demand the "immediate, complete, and unconditional withdrawal of the occupying forces" from the occupied Azerbaijani territory.

In total, about 20% of Azerbaijan's territory – including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions – has been under illegal Armenian occupation for nearly three decades.

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group – co-chaired by France, Russia, and the US – was formed in 1992 to find a peaceful solution to the conflict, but to no avail. A cease-fire, however, was agreed to in 1994.

World powers, including Russia, France, and the US, have called for a sustainable cease-fire. Turkey, meanwhile, has supported Baku's right to self-defense and demanded the withdrawal of Armenia's occupying forces.

ANKARA

Turkey on Wednesday called on Lebanese authorities to launch an investigation over provocative acts in front of the Turkish Embassy in the capital Beirut.

“We strongly condemn the burning of the Turkish flag and our President [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan’s picture by Armenian groups in front of our embassy in Beirut,” said a Foreign Ministry statement.

Turkey expects necessary steps to be taken towards the perpetrators of these brazen acts, it added.

The provocations come amid the conflict triggered on Sept. 27 between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Upper Karabakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), territory occupied by Armenia for nearly 30 years.

Turkey has steadfastly supported Azerbaijan in the conflict, stressing its right to regain illegally occupied land, and decried Armenian forces breaking cease-fires and attacking innocent civilians./aa