Turkish military says 78 terrorists killed in past week

By Sinan Uslu

ANKARA (AA) – Seventy-eight terrorists were killed in the past week, including one from a most-wanted list, the Turkish General Staff said in a written statement on Friday.

Firat Berkpinar, a terrorist listed in the 'grey category' by the Turkish army, was among those killed. Berkpinar was a senior PKK figure in Kahramanmaras -- a province in Turkey's southeast.

Operations took place in Sirnak, Hakkari, Siirt, Diyarbakir and Erzurum provinces, according to the briefing.

During operations, 45 terrorist shelters were also destroyed.

Seized equipment included 31 infantry rifles, two automatic rifles, a sniper rifle, three rocket launchers, 148 hand grenades and around 1,200 kilograms of ammonium nitrate, as well as 10 kilograms of A-4/C-4 explosive.

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.