UPDATE 2- Airstrikes neutralize 15 PKK terrorists in E. Turkey

UPDATES WITH INTERIOR MINISTRY STATEMENT; CHANGES HEAD, DECK, LEDE

By Orhan Onur Gemici

ANKARA (AA) - Fifteen PKK terrorists were neutralized in airstrikes in eastern Turkey on Tuesday, according to Interior Ministry.

Turkish authorities often use the word "neutralized" in their statements to imply that the terrorists in question were either killed, captured or surrendered.

In a written statement, the ministry said 15 PKK terrorists were neutralized in domestic counterterrorism operations, with 12 in eastern Kars and three others in Siirt, another eastern province.

It added that the operations are ongoing.

Earlier, a statement from Kars governorate read six terrorists were neutralized as part of an air operation backed by F-16 fighter jets on Cemce-Madur regions.

Separately, three terrorists were killed in eastern Siirt province in a drone strike in Mt. Tandir region, the security sources previously said.

Listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU, the PKK has waged a wide-ranging terror campaign against the Turkish state since the mid-1980s, in which an estimated 40,000 people have been killed.