Turkey: Operation Kiran neutralizes 139 PKK terrorists

ANKARA

A total of 139 terrorists have been neutralized and over 300 caves, shelters, and warehouses destroyed in the last four months during Operation Kiran, according to Turkey's Interior Ministry.

On Aug. 17, Turkey launched Operation Kiran in the country's southeast against YPG/PKK terrorists in the Van, Hakkari and Sirnak provinces, followed by the launch of Operation Kiran-2 on Aug. 27 in the Mardin, Sirnak and Batman provinces. Six more iterations of the operation followed, including Operation Kiran-8 which is underway in rural areas of the eastern Bitlis and Siirt provinces.

With Turkey ramping up its fight against terrorists, security forces launched the domestic anti-terror operation’s eighth phase, the Interior Ministry said on Wednesday.

Operation Kiran-8, under Interior Ministry coordination, is underway in the rural areas of the eastern Bitlis and Siirt provinces with nearly 3,500 security forces.

Since the operation’s start in August, 139 terrorists have been neutralized and 321 caves, shelters and warehouses destroyed, and large amounts of weapons and ammunition seized.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants. The YPG is the PKK’s Syrian offshoot.