PKK underground network destroyed in southeast Turkey

By Tanju Ozkaya

ANKARA (AA) - A cave and tunnel system being used by PKK terrorists has been destroyed in Turkey’s southeastern Sirnak province, the military said in a statement on Tuesday.

The four caves, which were used as shelters, and two 100 meter (330 feet) long tunnels used for winter storage were discovered to the south of Mount Dugun, the Turkish General Staff said.

The network was uncovered during a counter-terrorism operation mounted by the gendarmerie and the “village guard” militia in Sirnak, which borders Iraq and Syria. Since the start of the operation on Oct. 22, two terrorists have been killed and a wounded terrorist captured.

Weapons including a machine gun, a sniper rifle, a rocket-propelled grenade launcher, an M-16 and two AK-47 assault rifles, two grenades and documents have been seized, the statement added. The operation is ongoing.

The PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and EU -- resumed its decades-old armed campaign in July last year. Since then, more than 700 security force members have been martyred and around 8,000 PKK terrorists killed or apprehended.