Over 20 PKK Members Killed in Southeastern Turkey Within 24 Hours

Eight members of the separatist organization the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) were killed in Sirnak, three in Nusaybin and 12 in Yuksekova, according to the Turkish general staff.

ANKARA (Sputnik) — As many as 23 militants from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) have been killed in armed clashes in southeastern Turkey over the past 24 hours, the country's general staff said in a statement on Tuesday.

On Sunday, Turkey's Interior Minister Efkan Ala announced a round-the-clock curfew across seven southeastern regions. Earlier in March, Ala announced the launch of a new counterterrorism campaign against the PKK in the country's southeast, especially in the districts of Yuksekova, Nusaybin and Sirnak.

"Eight members of the separatist terrorist organization PKK were killed in Sirnak, three in Nusaybin and 12 in Yuksekova," the statement reads.

As many as 12 homemade bombs, as well as a number of hand grenades, grenade launchers, machine guns and a large amount of ammunition have been seized from PKK militants.

The standoff between the Turkish government and the PKK has claimed the lives of 300 troops and police officers since it erupted anew in July 2015. The Turkish general staff estimates that over 1,000 Kurdish militants have been killed in its anti-terror campaign since mid-December, a figure that pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party officials argue includes hundreds of civilians.

The PKK, which Turkey considers to be a terrorist organization, seeks to create a Kurdish state in parts of Turkey and Iraq.