UPDATE - Turkish deputy PM slams PKK for destroying mosques

UPDATES WITH MORE REMARKS FROM BOZDAG

By Baris Gundogan, Bestami Bodruk, Hasan Namlı and Ekrem Payan

SIRNAK, Turkey (AA) - Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag said on Friday the PKK terror organization had destroyed 27 mosques in Turkey's southeastern Sirnak province.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of a mosque, he added that another 70 mosques in the province had been damaged by the PKK.

Bozdag went on to say that those who vandalized mosques "did not know God and did not obey his commands".

"Whoever violates our sanctuaries it is an honor for us to break his hand," he added.

He said that in the years 2015 and 2016 no attacks on places of worships belonging to Muslims, Jews or Christians were reported in Turkey.

"But [now] there are attacks on Muslim sanctuaries by the PKK and Daesh terror organizations and other groups," he added, urging residents of Sirnak to protect their sanctuaries.

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.