Anti-PKK operation launched in SE Turkey

By Omer Yasin Ergin

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (AA) - An operation was launched Sunday against PKK terrorists in 18 villages of Diyarbakir province's Lice district of southeastern Turkey, security sources said.

The operation was carried out in Lice district’s mountainous and forest areas in order to neutralize PKK terrorists, including its senior executives and collaborators, and to destroy its facilities, said a security source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The governorship declared a curfew at 7.00 a.m. (0400GMT) Sunday in 18 villages .

The operation was successfully conducted with four battalion units and 17 helicopters in an area where snow was over a meter high, according to the source.

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.