19 PKK militants killed last week: Ministry

ANKARA

Turkish security forces killed 19 outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants last week in nationwide operations, the Interior Ministry said on Oct. 30, state-run Anadolu Agency has reported.

According to a statement, the security forces launched 1,570 operations between Oct. 23 and Oct. 30 against the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), the PKK, the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK), the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), and extreme leftist groups, detaining a total of 1,256 suspects.

Nineteen PKK militants were killed, 12 were captured and 13 surrendered to the security forces, the statement said.

A total of 17 PKK shelters and caves were made “unusable” by security forces in the eastern and southeastern provinces of Muş, Bitlis, Diyarbakır, Erzincan, Tunceli, and Hakkari. A total of 2 tons of food products, 30 weapons, including 22 heavy and long-barreled ones, 362 kilograms of substance used in the production of explosives, eight hand grenades, 6,287 various ammunitions, and 104 improvised explosives were seized.

The number of total detainees increased to 4,929, as the others faced charges over alleged drug trafficking and human trafficking in the context of illegal migration, the statement said.