Nurcan Karakaya and baby Bedirhan remembered 8 years after PKK attack

By Ahmet Taş | Wise News Press

ŞARKIŞLA, TÜRKİYE — Nurcan Karakaya and her infant son, Bedirhan Mustafa Karakaya, were commemorated with prayers and flowers in Şarkışla eight years after they were killed in a PKK roadside bombing in southeastern Türkiye.

The ceremony was held at the Şarkışla Garrison Martyrs’ Cemetery, where the mother and child were buried following the July 31, 2018, attack near Yüksekova in Hakkari province.

Nurcan Karakaya’s mother, Suudiye Demir, attended the memorial alongside Deputy Minister of National Defense Musa Heybet, Şarkışla District Governor Zekeriya Murat Şahan, Mayor Kasım Gültekin, local officials and residents.

Türkiye’s Ministry of National Defense lists Heybet among the country’s current deputy defense ministers. Şarkışla’s official district records identify Şahan as district governor and Gültekin as the municipality’s mayor.

Memorial held at the family’s graves

Participants gathered around the adjoining graves of Nurcan Karakaya and Bedirhan Mustafa Karakaya to mark the eighth anniversary of their deaths.

District Mufti Serkan Yalçın recited verses from the Quran before prayers were offered for the mother and child. Officials and residents then placed roses on their graves.

The ceremony followed a pattern established in previous anniversary commemorations in Şarkışla, where family members, public officials and residents have gathered to recite prayers and leave flowers. Memorial events were also held at the cemetery on earlier anniversaries of the attack.

The official Şarkışla district website records both Nurcan and Bedirhan among those buried at the district’s martyrs’ cemetery. It states that they died on July 31, 2018, after an explosive planted on a road by PKK militants detonated in Hakkari.

Turkish flag presented to Suudiye Demir

During the memorial, Deputy Defense Minister Musa Heybet presented a Turkish flag to Suudiye Demir, Nurcan Karakaya’s mother and Bedirhan’s grandmother.

The presentation was followed by expressions of remembrance and solidarity with the family. Officials emphasized that the mother and child would continue to be commemorated and that the families of people killed in attacks would not be forgotten.

Previous anniversary ceremonies have also focused closely on Demir, who has regularly visited the graves of her daughter and grandson. During the seventh-anniversary commemoration in 2025, she said that the pain remained as immediate as it had been on the day of the attack.

Members of the official delegation visited Demir at her home after the cemetery ceremony. The visit provided an opportunity to speak with the family and convey condolences and institutional support.

Mother and infant were killed near Yüksekova

The attack occurred on July 31, 2018, near Yüksekova, a district in Türkiye’s southeastern Hakkari province.

Nurcan Karakaya had travelled with her baby to visit her husband, Gendarmerie Noncommissioned Officer Serkan Karakaya, who was serving at a military position in the region.

As she and her child travelled back from the visit, an explosive device planted on the road was detonated as their vehicle passed. Nurcan Karakaya died at the scene, while Bedirhan was taken to a hospital but could not be saved, according to accounts published after the attack.

Bedirhan was about 10 months old. Official district records show that he was born on Oct. 19, 2017, and died in the July 2018 bombing. His mother was born in Şarkışla and was registered in the district’s Yakacıkçavuşlu village.

Their deaths prompted widespread public mourning in Türkiye. Thousands of people, including senior state officials, attended the funeral held in Şarkışla before the mother and child were buried side by side.

The funeral drew thousands to Şarkışla

The funeral ceremony took place shortly after the attack and was attended by Nurcan Karakaya’s husband, relatives, residents and government representatives.

The coffins of the mother and child were carried to the ceremony area wrapped in Turkish flags. They were later taken to the Şarkışla Garrison Martyrs’ Cemetery for burial.

According to the Şarkışla District Governor’s Office, approximately 10,000 people attended the funeral. The official account said the gathering included then-government ministers, provincial officials and representatives of political parties.

The small coffin prepared for Bedirhan became one of the most widely remembered images from the funeral. In later years, the family and local community continued to gather at the graves on July 31.

Annual commemorations have included Quran recitations, prayers and the placement of flowers. Members of the family have also spoken publicly about the continuing emotional impact of the loss.

Bedirhan’s name has been given to public facilities

Bedirhan Mustafa Karakaya’s name has been used for public spaces and facilities established in his memory.

A park in Şarkışla was named after him, and a memorial bearing his photograph was placed there. His name was also given to a military position in the Yüksekova region where his father had served.

In 2024, a sports facility bearing Bedirhan’s name was opened in Şarkışla during events marking the sixth anniversary of the attack. Officials attending the opening said the facility was intended to preserve his memory and pass the story of the mother and child to future generations.

The commemorative projects have made Bedirhan’s name part of public spaces used by children, families and local residents. They have also ensured that the attack is remembered beyond the annual cemetery ceremonies.

Annual remembrance continues in Şarkışla

The eighth-anniversary event continued a series of commemorations organized in Şarkışla since 2019.

The ceremonies have brought together different groups of participants over the years, including the family, local residents, district officials, governors, members of parliament and representatives of the security services.

Although the participants and program have changed from year to year, the central elements have remained the same: prayers are read, flowers are placed at the graves and the family receives visits from officials.

The 2026 ceremony concluded after the cemetery prayers, the presentation of the Turkish flag to Suudiye Demir and the delegation’s visit to her home.

Eight years after the bombing, Nurcan Karakaya and Bedirhan Mustafa Karakaya remain closely associated with Şarkışla’s public remembrance of civilians killed in armed attacks.

WiseNewsPress.com