33 PKK terrorists 'neutralized' in Turkey's SE

ANKARA

A total of 33 PKK terrorists have been "neutralized" in an ongoing operation in Turkey's southeastern Hakkari province, the military said Friday.

In a statement, the Turkish General Staff said a drone strike on Friday morning neutralized six terrorists on Dilekli Nizar Mountain in Yuksekova, while another 26 were neutralized Thursday during an air-backed operation in Cukurca, a mountainous district on the Iraqi border.

Meanwhile, another PKK terrorist was killed during a clash between the terrorists and security forces in Lice, Diyarbakir province Thursday.

The security forces also destroyed Thursday a vehicle loaded with three tons of explosives in Savur, Mardin province, the statement said.

The PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and EU -- resumed its decades-old armed campaign in July last year. Since then, PKK terrorist attacks martyred more than 700 security personnel and also claimed the lives of many civilians, including women and children, while nearly 8,000 PKK terrorists were killed in army operations.