60 PKK terrorists killed in SE Turkey last week: Army

By Ensar Balci

ANKARA (AA) – Security forces killed 60 PKK terrorists during counter-terrorism operations in eastern and southeastern Turkey over the last week, the Turkish military said on Friday.

In a statement, Turkish General Staff said 60 terrorists were killed in Turkey’s Sirnak, Hakkari, Diyarbakir, Bingol, Elazig, Mardin and Siirt provinces.

Weapons including rifles, handguns, hand grenades, machine guns, rocket launchers were seized during the operations, the statement added. Around 750 kilograms (1,653 pounds) of ammonium nitrate, gas cylinders, mines and a large amount of ammunition as well as cables and fuses -- possibly used in bomb making -- were also captured.

Fifty-two shelters as well as caves and storages used by terrorists, were destroyed.

Contraband confiscated over the week included 459,953 bits of hemp roots, 113 kilograms (249 pounds) of drugs, 1,607 kilograms powder cannabis as well as 1,291 kilograms powder hashish and 92,110 packages of smuggled cigarettes.

The statement added that 5,617 illegal migrants were stopped at Turkey’s borders.

The military said that seven soldiers were also martyred and another 19 were injured in anti-terror operations last week.

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 the EU -- resumed its decades-old armed campaign in July 2015.