MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Turkish security forces have killed 54 Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants over three days of operations in the country's southeast, a local broadcaster reported Friday.
The military counter-terrorist operations were conducted in Sirnak Province, targeting the towns of Silopi and Cizre, according to security sources quoted by the channel A Haber.
Turkey's Kurdish-dominated southeast, bordering Iran, has seen a resumption of hostilities between the Turkish government and Kurdish guerrilla forces following July's breakdown of a two-year peace process.
Hostilities continued throughout Turkey's October election, with the Turkish government refusing to support PKK's unilateral ceasefire offer in early October. The PKK ended its month-long ceasefire on Thursday, a day after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced his intention to "liquidating" the organization in the wake of his party's election victory.
Approximately 180 Turkish police and soldiers were killed by Kurdish militia amid the escalating violence over the last four months. Turkey's air force has been conducting air strikes on PKK positions across southeastern Turkey, as well as northern Iraq, since July 24.
