Army finds bodies of 30 terrorists in southeast Turkey

ANKARA

Turkish military has found the bodies of 30 terrorists following the end of a counter-terrorism operation in southeastern Sirnak province’s Cizre district Thursday, it was announced Saturday.

"During the operation, [soldiers] found 30 dead bodies neutralized earlier in seven different apartments," Turkish General Staff said on its official website Saturday.

The military said the number of "neutralized" terrorists was now at 654.

The counter-terrorism operation in Cizre ended officially Thursday.

The military also said that it captured five PKK terrorists in the district.

An intensified operation to root out the PKK began on Dec. 16, although a curfew was put in place in the area in September.

An anti-terrorism operation is still ongoing in Diyarbakir province’s Sur district.

Turkish army also said it killed a PKK member in Sur, adding that the army also killed 190 terrorists in that area.

Other towns in the southeast have seen similar operations but the ones in Cizre and Sur have proved to be the longest-running so far.

In southeastern Hakkari province, the army said a terrorist surrendered to the army.

The army also captured a suspected PYD member while crossing illegally into Turkey’s southeastern Sanliurfa province.

It also captured a Daesh member while crossing into Turkey’s southeastern Kilis province from Syria.

The PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by also by the U.S. and EU -- resumed its 30-year armed campaign last July.

Since then, more than 260 members of the security forces have been martyred and thousands of PKK terrorists killed, according to officials.