09 March 2016•Update: 10 March 2016
ANKARA
The longest-running anti-terrorism operation in southeast Turkey came to an end Wednesday, said Interior Minister Efkan Ala.
Ala told an Anadolu Agency reporter that the operation in Sur, the historic quarter of Diyarbakir, came to an end Wednesday afternoon.
Ala stated that the operations were successful and added, "As part of the operation, 243 ditches were filled and roadblocks were lifted and 354 bombs were defused."
He said that many long-barreled weapons, heavy weapons, rocket launchers and ammo, and handmade explosives and grenades were also seized.
The operation saw the district sealed off since early December as security forces fought PKK terrorists and removed ditches and barricades and defused boobytrap bombs.
Police and troops are still searching the area.
According to a statement released by the Turkish General Staff at the weekend, 264 terrorists were killed and 345 explosive devices defused in Sur since the operation began.
Sur was one of a series of towns and neighborhoods targeted in counter-terrorism operations to root out the terror group PKK, which renewed its armed campaign against Turkey in July.
Since then, 290 members of the security forces have been martyred while 1,250 terrorists have been killed in the Sirnak, Diyarbakir, Mardin, and Mus provinces.
