Southeast Turkey operations leave '870 terrorists dead'

ANKARA

The number of PKK terrorists killed in counter-terrorism operations in southeastern Turkey since Dec. 15 has shot up to 870, Turkish General Staff announced Thursday.

According to a statement on Turkish Armed Forces' official website, the majority of the casualties took place in Cizre district of Sirnak province.

Out of the more than 800 terrorists killed so far, 663 were in Cizre, while 207 others were killed in the central district of Sur in Diyarbakir province.

Meanwhile, Turkish security forces detained 11 suspected Daesh members Wednesday, the same statement said.

A group of eight foreign nationals including two minors was captured as they were attempting to cross illegally into Syria from the central district of Oguzeli in Turkey’s Gaziantep province, while the remaining three suspects were detained in Kilis’ Elbeyli district during a security check.

Both Gaziantep and Kilis are in southeastern Turkey, bordering Syria.

The PKK -- also considered a terrorist organization by the U.S. and the EU -- resumed its 30-year armed campaign against the Turkish state in late July 2015.

Since then, more than 270 members of the security forces have been martyred and thousands of PKK terrorists killed in operations across Turkey and northern Iraq.