Turkish military says air operations killed 25 PKK

ANKARA

At least 25 PKK terrorists were killed in an air offensive by the Turkish Armed Forces in southeastern Turkey and northern Iraq on Tuesday.

According to a Turkish General Staff statement released on its official website, 19 of the dead were killed in an operation that targeted the PKK camps in the Gara area of Iraq's north.

The six remaining were killed in the Cukurca area of Turkey's southeastern Hakkari province, which borders Iraq.

The PKK is designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and EU.

According to Turkish government figures, the PKK has killed around 30 civilians since July, while more than 120 members of the security forces have been martyred.

The renewed violence has come in the wake of the July 20 Suruc massacre, blamed on Daesh. The fighting has seen the collapse of a fragile cease-fire from early 2013 dubbed the ‘solution process’ which sought an end to the 30-year conflict between the PKK and the Turkish security forces.