2 PKK leaders among past week's death toll, Turkey says

By Baris Gundogan

ANKARA (AA) - Two senior PKK terrorists were among 45 PKK members killed over the past week, the Turkish military said Friday.

The deaths were reported during operations in southeast Turkey and northern Iraq, the Turkish Armed Forces said in a statement to journalists.

Operations were carried out in the Yuksekova district of Hakkari province, Uludere district in Sirnak, Diyabakir’s Hani and Lice districts and the Baykan district of Siirt province.

Airstrikes and a ground operation were also conducted in the Zap and Avasin regions of northern Iraq, where PKK camps used to launch attacks on Turkey lie close to the border.

The military gave no further detail on the deaths of the two senior PKK figures.

More than 1,200 people, including security force personnel and civilians, have lost their lives since the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and EU -- resumed its decades-old armed campaign in July 2015.