ANKARA

Sweden on Tuesday offered condolences to Turkey over the killing of 13 Turkish citizens by the terror group PKK in northern Iraq.

“I offer my deepest condolences to the families of the Turkish citizens who lost their lives in an act of terror in Northern Iraq. We express our solidarity with the Turkish people,” said Ann Linde, the Swedish foreign minister and chairperson-in-office of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), on Twitter.

The Turkish nationals, held captive for several years by the PKK, were killed by the terror group in Gara, northern Iraq last week, during Turkey’s anti-terror operation in the region.

Turkish National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar on Sunday said the bodies of the 13 people massacred had been found in a cave.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US, and EU – has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.