27 PKK terrorists killed in Turkey, northern Iraq

By Mumin Altas

ANKARA

The Turkish Air Force on Monday carried out air raids in the country’s eastern and southeastern provinces as well as northern Iraq, killing at least 17 PKK terrorists, the military said.

In a statement, the Turkish General Staff said four terrorists were killed in the southeastern Sirnak province, while two others were killed in the eastern Bitlis province.

Eleven more terrorists were killed in northern Iraq’s Hakurk region, it added.

In a separate operation, 10 PKK terrorists, including two senior members, intercepted by an aerial drone were killed in the southeastern Hakkari province, according to the provincial governor’s office.

“As a result of coordination with intelligence units, 10 PKK terrorists, including the two Semdinli region heads, codenamed Xebat and Cekdar, were killed in Turkish Air Force airstrikes,” the governor’s office said in a statement.

More than 1,200 people, including security force personnel and civilians, have lost their lives since the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization also by the U.S. and the EU -- resumed its decades-old armed campaign in July 2015.