173 anti-PKK ops launched in Turkey's Agri in one year

By Orhan Gungor

AGRI, Turkey (AA) - Twenty-eight PKK terrorists have been killed in 173 security operations carried out by the gendarmes in Turkey's northeastern Agri province since March 2016, a security source said Tuesday.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media, said that the air-backed operations intensified around Mount Ararat and Mount Tendurek.

The so-called "regional heads" of the terrorist group including Zamanhan Kaya, codename Ararat, Yusuf Salin, codename Adil and Enver Gorduk, codename Siyar Kale, were among the terrorists killed, the source added.

During the operations, multiple shelters and caves used by the terrorists were destroyed, large amount of ammunition and heavy weaponry seized, and a number of bomb attacks against security forces foiled.

Agri Governor Musa Isin told Anadolu Agency on Tuesday that the security operations would continue in the region and all precautions had been taken to ensure public safety.

"We will not give terrorists a chance," he said, adding that he believed terrorism would end this year "thanks to the great endeavors of our state and government, and the sacrifice of our security forces".

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