ANKARA

Turkish security forces killed 16 PKK terrorists during ongoing anti-terror operations in southeastern provinces of Sirnak and Diyarbakir on Tuesday, Turkish army said Wednesday.

Turkish General Staff said in a statement on its official website that security forces killed nine terrorists in Sirnak province’s Cizre district and seven terrorists in Diyarbakir province’s Sur district.

Security forces also confiscated explosives, weapons and ammunitions apart from removing several barricades and filling ditches in the area.

Turkish army said 227 PKK terrorists had been killed in Cizre district so far, while 97 terrorists were also killed in Sur district since the anti-terror operation began in mid-December last year.

The statement added that a PKK terrorist surrendered to security forces in Sanliurfa province. Another person was detained in Diyarbakir’s Silvan district.

The PKK -- considered a terrorist organization also by the U.S. and the EU -- resumed its 30-year armed campaign against the Turkish state in late July.

Since then, more than 200 members of the security forces have been martyred and thousands of PKK terrorists killed in operations across Turkey and northern Iraq.

 Anti-Daesh operations

Also on Tuesday, Turkish General Staff said 21 suspected Daesh members were arrested in Sanliurfa province during a joint operation carried out by the provincial gendarmerie and police teams.

Separately, the army said that eight Daesh suspects holding foreign nationality were arrested in Kilis province, south-central Turkey, on Tuesday while trying to "illegally cross the Turkish Syrian border".

Security forces have arrested dozens of people across Turkey, including three Russian nationals for alleged links with Daesh in the aftermath of the deadly Sultanahmet blast in Istanbul, security sources told Anadolu Agency on Wednesday.