By Sertac Bulur
ANKARA AA) – A total of 18 PKK terrorists were “neutralized ” in Turkey's southeastern Diyarbakir, Sirnak and Osmaniye provinces on Wednesday, the Interior ministry said.
Turkish authorities often use the word “neutralize ” in their statements to imply that the terrorists in question either surrendered or were killed or captured.
During operations security forces “neutralized ” 11 terrorists in Osmaniye, four in Sirnak and three in Diyarbakir, a ministry statement said.
The operations are still ongoing, the statement added.
In its more than 30-year terrorist campaign against Turkey, the PKK — listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU — has been responsible for the deaths of nearly 40,000 people.
More than 1,200 Turkish security personnel and civilians, including a number of women and children, have been killed since July 2015 alone, when the group resumed its terror campaign.
