Army forces kill 6 PKK militants in southeast Turkey

At least six members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) have been killed after Turkish military forces launched separate operations against the militants in the country’s restive southeastern province of Sirnak.

The Turkish General Staff said in a statement that the offensives were carried out in the town of Cizre, located about 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) southeast of the capital, Ankara, on Friday as Turkish forces and PKK militants engaged in fierce skirmishes.

The statement added that two Turkish soldiers also lost their lives and as many sustained injuries during the heavy clashes. The wounded troops were transferred to local hospitals, where they are receiving medical treatment.

According to the statement, at least 205 PKK militants have been killed in operations across southeastern Turkey since December 15.

A total of 139 PKK terrorists have been killed in Cizre, while another 33 were killed in Sur district of Diyarbakir Province. The other militants are from the provinces of Mardin and Bitlis.

Ankara has been engaged in a large-scale campaign against the PKK in its southern border region in the recent past. The Turkish military has also been conducting offensives against the positions of the group in northern Iraq.

The operations began in the wake of a deadly July 20 bombing in the southern Turkish town of Suruc. More than 30 people died in the attack, which the Turkish government blamed on the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group.

After the bombing, the PKK militants, who accuse the government in Ankara of supporting Daesh, engaged in a series of supposed reprisal attacks against Turkish police and security forces, in turn prompting the Turkish military operations.

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