MOSCOW – A total of 13 fighters of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) were killed during the Turkish security forces’ operations carried out within the last two days in the southeastern part of the country, local media reported on Saturday.
The operations were conducted in the provinces of Sirnak, Hakkari, Bingol, Diyarbakir and Tunceli, the Anadolu news agency reported, citing the Turkish General Staff.
Eleven PKK fighters were killed in the province of Sirnak while two other – in the province of Hakkari, who were also suspected of preparing an attack on a Turkish military base.
One more person suspected of having links to the PKK was detained in the province of Diyarbakir.
The Turkish forces also managed to seize weapons including RPG-7 grenade-launcher, AK-47 assault rifles, grenades and improvised explosive devices.
Tensions between Ankara and the Kurds, the largest ethnic minority in the country, escalated in July 2015, when a ceasefire between Ankara and the PKK collapsed because of a series of terror attacks allegedly committed by PKK members. The PKK, a militant group fighting for Kurdish independence from Turkey, is designated as a terrorist organization by Ankara.
Earlier this month, Turkish Minister of National Defense Fikri Isik said that since July 23, 2015, Turkey had neutralized 10,091 PKK fighters with 7,071 of them having been killed
