Turkish security forces kill 12 PKK terrorists

ANKARA (AA) - Twelve PKK terrorists were killed in security operations in Turkey’s southeast, the military command said Monday.

In a statement on its website, the Turkish General Staff said three were killed in Nusaybin, a town on the Syrian border in Mardin province, eight in the neighboring province of Sirnak and another in Hakkari province, which borders Iran and Iraq.

All the incidents took place on Monday, the statement said.

In Nusaybin, the “total number of terrorists neutralized reached 498”, according to the statement, while 22 improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were destroyed.

In Sirnak province, seven IEDs were destroyed and arms and explosives captured. Terrorists set fire to a building in an attempt to escape the security forces. The statement said a total of 174 terrorists had been killed in Sirnak, 1,388 IEDs destroyed and 145 buildings set alight.

The PKK - listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and EU - resumed its 30-year armed campaign against the Turkish state in July 2015. Since then, around 500 security personnel have been martyred, and more than 4,900 PKK terrorists killed.