Before Turkey had come to terms with the shock of the suicide bombing that killed 32 young activists in Suruc on July 20, news arrived that two policemen had been executed in their sleep in the town of Ceylanpinar, also in Sanliurfa province.

Soon after the murders on July 23, the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) claimed responsibility. The PKK accused the policemen of being in contact with the Islamic State (IS) and said they were executed in retaliation for the Suruc suicide bombing. Less than 24 hours later, two traffic policemen were attacked and wounded in Diyarbakir after having been lured to investigate an accident. One of them died in the hospital. 

More attacks against police then followed in other parts of the country: Seven policemen were wounded in an attack in the town of Bismil in Diyarbakir province; a rocket-propelled grenade hit a police armored vehicle in the town of Semdinli in Hakkari province and wounded two policemen; a police station in the city of Siirt was strafed with rifle fire; a police patrol in Nusaybin in Mardin province came under fire; and a police station in the city center of Diyarbakir was attacked.

The PKK — which refrained from violence in the run-up to the elections, despite all the tension — now has resumed attacks against the police in cities in different parts of the country. While the PKK leadership has not declared the end of the cease-fire, it frequently says it has become meaningless.