News / Turkey

Turkish military announces killing of 267 Kurdish fighters

Saturday, 02 January 2016 10:42 PM [ Last Update: Saturday, 02 January 2016 10:44 PM ]

Protestors clash with Turkish police officers on December 31, 2015 in Diyarbakir, during a protest rally after a 19-day curfew was lifted from the city. (photos by AFP)

Turkish military forces have killed over 260 Kurdish fighters allegedly affiliated with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) during two days of operations in the country’s three southeastern districts.

In a Saturday statement, the Turkish chief of general staff announced the killing of a total of 267 PKK elements in what it described as “ongoing operations” in the predominantly Kurdish-populated areas, already under a military curfew.

According to the military statement, 179 of the Kurdish fighters were killed in the Cizre district of the Sirnak province while 55 more were killed in operations in the Sur district and 24 others in the Silopi district of the Diyarbakir province.

*Turkish soldiers take cover in front of a barricade during clashes with Kurdish militants in Silvan on November 13, 2015.*

The three heavily Kurdish-populated districts have remained under Ankara-imposed military curfew since early December, when the so-called anti-terrorism operations by Turkish armed forces began.

The statement further added that three more PKK members were killed in Cizre on Friday while three others were taken into custody by Turkish security officers.

It added that five other Kurdish militants were also killed in Silopi on Friday as 15 Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) were destroyed, along with two trenches and the removal of seven barricades.

It further pointed to the killing of another PKK fighter in Diyarbakır’s historical Sur district in an operation that also demolished three barricades.

According to the statement, cited in Turkish media outlets, skirmishes also erupted between the country’s armed forces and PKK elements in the Nusaybin district of the Mardin province as Kurdish fighters attempted to cross into Turkey from bordering Syria, where the country’s Kurdish-populated areas have come under brutal attacks by Daesh Takfiri terrorists.

It did not, however, mention any casualties as the result of the border clashes, only saying that its security forces seized a variety of military equipment and small armaments.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk