21 PKK terrorists 'neutralized' in SE Turkey last week

ANKARA (AA) – Twenty-one terrorists were “neutralized” in security operations in southeastern Turkey over the last week as part of the fight against the PKK terror group, the Turkish Armed Forces said Friday.

According to a statement issued by General Staff, the terrorists were neutralized in separate operations on Dec. 8-14 in the southeastern provinces of Hakkari, Diyarbakır, and Siirt.

Security forces also conducted anti-terror operations in the region’s Mardin and Bitlis provinces, it added.

Additionally, 38 handmade explosives, six rocket launchers, one anti-aircraft gun, and a large amount of explosives and ammunition were seized by security forces.

A total of 4,218 people who were trying to cross the border of Turkey illegally were arrested, the statement said.

The Turkish military often uses the word "neutralized" to imply the terrorists in question were captured, heavily wounded, or killed.

Meanwhile, Turkish security forces detained three people from the northwestern province of Bursa and five from the Aegean province of Izmir for spreading pro-PKK propaganda through social media networks.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and the EU. It resumed its decades-old armed campaign in July 2015 against the Turkish state.

Over 1,100 people, including security personnel and civilians, have lost their lives in PKK attacks in Turkey since the terrorist organization resumed its decades-old campaign in July 2015.

- Operation Euphrates Shield

The statement added that a total of 225 residential areas, including more than 1,860 square kilometers (700 square miles) of land in northern Syria, have so far been cleared of Daesh terrorists as part of Operation Euphrates Shield.

Turkish military-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) fighters have also reached the eastern and northern outskirts of Daesh-held Al-Bab, a strategic city for the terror group.

Operation Euphrates Shield began in late August to improve security, support coalition forces, and eliminate the terror threat along Turkey's border using FSA fighters backed by Turkish artillery, and jets.

Separately, 33 Daesh suspects were detained in security operations in the central Anatolian Konya province, police said on Friday.