Turkey's army says it killed 45 PKK terrorists in the past week

The PKK killed two soldiers in an attack in Sirnak on Friday. Five other soldiers were killed and five injured during ongoing operations in Sirnak, Hakkari, Diyarbakir, Batman, Mardin and Bitlislast provinces.

Turkish military personnel during an anti-terror operation in Tunceli province. (File photo)
TRT World and Agencies

Turkish military personnel during an anti-terror operation in Tunceli province. (File photo)

Turkey's army on Friday said it had "neutralised" 45 PKK terrorists in six southeastern provinces over the past week.

Two soldiers were killed on Friday, and two others were wounded in a PKK attack in the province of Sirnak. The wounded were airlifted to Sirnak State Hospital via helicopter.

Five soldiers were also killed, and another five were injured, in ongoing operations in the country's southeast during the past week.

Weapons including rifles, handguns, hand grenades, a machine gun and a grenade launcher were seized during the operations in the provinces of Sirnak, Hakkari, Diyarbakir, Batman, Mardin and Bitlis, according to a statement by the Turkish General Staff.

Around 1,250 kilogrammes (2,755 pounds) of ammonium nitrate was also recovered, the statement added. Ammonium nitrate is a key ingredient in homemade bombs.

The army added that eight shelters used by the PKK were destroyed, and four cars believed to be under preparation for use in suicide or bomb attacks were impounded.

More than 1,200 people, including security force personnel and civilians, have lost their lives since the PKK – listed as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the US and the EU – resumed its decades-old armed campaign after a two-and-a-half year hiatus in July 2015.

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