Four PKK militants killed in airstrikes in northern Iraq

HAKKARİ

Four outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants were killed in airstrikes by Turkish security forces in northern Iraq on Sept. 18, a local governor’s office said in a statement.

The Turkish Air Forces carried out an operation after the militants were spotted by an unmanned aerial vehicle, killing four in the Mount Suki region in Iraq.

Elsewhere, one Turkish soldier was killed during an operation against the PKK in the southeastern province of Mardin on Sept. 18, a military source said. 

According to the source, a close contact was established with PKK militants in Mardin’s Nusaybin and Ömerli districts. 

An operation was launched to apprehend the militants in the area after the death of the Turkish soldier in the clash with PKK militants. 

Moreover, a total of 46 PKK militants were “neutralized” inside Turkey in the past week, the Interior Ministry announced Sept. 17. 

In a statement detailing operations held between Sept. 11 and Sept. 17, the ministry said: “During the operations, a total of 29 militants were killed.”

Eleven of them surrendered, while six others were captured alive, it added. The operations were held in the southeastern and eastern provinces of Diyarbakır, Mardin, Iğdır, Sivas, Siirt, Bingöl, Tunceli, Hakkari and Şırnak.

Some 28 shelters and 49 improvised explosive devices were also destroyed during the week. 

Security personnel also seized 134 hand grenades, 191 kilograms of bomb-making material and 34 heavy weapons.