May 19, 2016•Update: May 22, 2016
ANKARA
Turkish security forces killed a total of 23 terrorists from the terrorist group PKK in separate operations in Turkey’s southeast and in northern Iraq on Wednesday, said the army.
According to a statement posted on the Turkish General Staff website Thursday, Turkish warplanes carried out airstrikes, killing 15 terrorists in the Metina and Hakurk regions of northern Iraq and the Semdinli district of Turkey’s southeastern Hakkari province.
"Security forces three times carried out airstrikes in the Metina region between 11.40 and 16.25 yesterday, and in the Hakurk region between 15.30 and 15.50, and in the rural area of Semdinli," said the statement.
The airstrikes destroyed PKK positions, shelters, and caves, said the army.
In addition, five PKK terrorists were killed in an air-backed operation in Semdinli, Hakkari. The statement said three of the five terrorists were killed while they were about to carry out a bomb attack on a military vehicle on the Semdinli-Aktutun highway.
In addition, in an ongoing operation in the Nusaybin district of the Mardin province, three PKK terrorists were killed. Since the current operations began last summer, the total number of terrorists “neutralized” in Nusaybin is 388, said the army.
The PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization also by the U.S., and the EU -- resumed its 30-year armed campaign against the Turkish state in July 2015.
Since then, more than 450 members of the security forces, including troops, police officers, and village guards, have been martyred, and over 4,500 PKK terrorists killed in operations across Turkey and northern Iraq.
