Seven PKK terrorists killed in Turkey's southeast

ANKARA

Seven PKK terrorists were killed in Turkey’s southeastern Diyarbakir city, the military said Friday.

In a statement, the Turkish General Staff said the terrorists were killed in Sur, an historic district of the provincial capital. An improvised explosive device (IED) was seized during the same incident.

On Thursday, the day after Interior Minister Efkan Ala announced the end of a three-month counter-terrorism operation in Sur, the military said 274 terrorists had been killed in the district since early December and 365 IEDs defused.

The operation in Sur was the longest running of a series of anti-terror actions across the southeast that saw security forces oust the PKK from urban areas. The operations involved round-the-clock curfews as police and soldiers removed barricades, ditches and booby-traps.

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. Since then, more than 290 members of the security forces have been martyred and thousands of terrorists killed.