PM arrives in Turkey's Sirnak for unannounced visit

ANKARA

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu arrived in Turkey's southeastern province of Sirnak on Friday for an unannounced visit to learn about completed anti-terror operations in the Silopi district.

Davutoglu arrived in Sirnak at 11.00 a.m. on his private plane. Sirnak Governor Ali Ihsan Su and other local officials welcomed him at Sirnak’s Serafettin Elci Airport.

He then proceeded toward the Silopi district, where anti-terrorism operations against the PKK have recently been completed.

Davutoglu was scheduled to perform Friday prayers at Silopi’s Carsi Mosque and go to the local district governorship to be briefed on the completed operations.

Mehmet Gormez, the head of Turkey’s Religious Affairs Directorate, and some Cabinet ministers are accompanying Davutoglu on his visit.

Turkey's southeast has been the scene of significant military operations since December; a curfew was declared in Silopi last Tuesday.

The PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization also by the U.S., and the EU -- resumed its 30-year armed campaign last July. Since then, more than 280 members of the security forces have been martyred and thousands of PKK terrorists killed, according to officials.