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At least 22 PKK terrorists were "neutralized" during counterterrorism operations in southeastern Turkey, the Interior Ministry and the army said on Friday.
In a statement, the Interior Ministry said 15 PKK terrorists were neutralized across three provinces in anti-terror operations in the last 24 hours.
Turkish authorities often use the word "neutralized" in their statements to imply that the terrorists in question either surrendered or were killed or captured.
The counterterrorism operations were conducted in the provinces of Mardin, Hakkari and Şırnak.
Police arrested PKK terror group member Gülizar Taşdemir, 42, at Istanbul's Atatürk Airport on Thursday.Taşdemir’s arrest came following her deportation from Norway when her asylum request was rejected. During her body search, police seized two cellphones, two SIM cards, three flash memory cards as well as digital material, documents related to the terror group and photographs shot alongside Öcalan.Recruited by the PKK in 1991, Taşdemir received armed training at the Mahmur camp, Iraq, and was with Öcalan, the jailed head of the PKK terrorist organization, for many years.PKK terrorists kill father and mentally disabled son in SE TurkeyIn 2013, the Public Prosecutor's Office in eastern Erzurum had issued an arrest warrant for Taşdemir for membership in an armed terror group.The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey as well as the U.S. and the EU. In its terror campaign against Turkey, which has lasted for more than three decades, over 40,000 people have been killed, including women and children.Two PKK terrorists nabbed trying to enter Syria’s Afrin
Turkey arrests wanted PKK terrorist deported by Norway
“Two terrorists in Mardin, five terrorists in Hakkari (Kırıkdağ) and eight terrorists in Şırnak – a total of 15 terrorists – have been neutralized in the last 24 hours within the scope of counterterrorism operations. The operation in Mardin is ongoing,” the statement released by the Interior Ministry said.
Separately, in a message posted on its official Twitter account, the Turkish General Staff said seven PKK terrorists had been neutralized in a rural area of the Hakkari province.
Fighter jets conducted airstrikes on July 5-6 in a rural area of Hakkari.
The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and the EU. In its terror campaign against Turkey, which has lasted for more than three decades, over 40,000 people have been killed, including many women and children.
A new report of Germany’s domestic intelligence agency has described the terrorist PKK group and its Syrian affiliates -- PYD and YPG -- as “sister organisations”.The Office for the Protection of the Constitution (LfV) in northern state of Schleswig-Holstein gave new details about the activities of PYD/PKK/YPG in Germany, in its annual report which was published on the government’s website.The PKK and its affiliates are still active across the country with nearly 14,500 followers among the Kurdish immigrant community, and are using the German soil for propaganda, fund-raising and logistics support, the report said.Despite PYD’s widespread propaganda in the Western media, portraying itself as an independent Syrian Kurdish group, the German domestic intelligence agency highlighted that the group was closely attached with the PKK in northern Germany.Earlier this year, Germany’s federal domestic intelligence agency (BfV) warned about growing PKK activity and violence in the country, and also described the PYD as PKK's “sister organization”.The terrorist PKK group has been banned in Germany since 1993, but the German government has not yet taken any legal action to outlaw the PYD.Turkey has long criticized German authorities for not taking serious measures against the terrorist group and tolerating their propaganda activities.The PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and the EU, waged a terror campaign against Turkey for more than 30 years, and has been responsible for the death of nearly 40,000 people.TAF, FSA destroy joint PKK- Daesh terror cells in SyriaTurkish army conducts 9th round of patrols in Manbij
German intelligence calls PKK, PYD 'sister' groups