Turkish security forces killed 11 PKK terrorists in northern Iraq and confiscated ammunition and supplies in eastern Turkey, the Defense Ministry said Thursday.
Turkish commandos and ground fire support vehicles neutralized 10 terrorists in the Operation Claw-Lightning zone and one in the Claw-Thunderstorm region, the ministry said on Twitter.
The PKK terrorist group often hides out in northern Iraq, just across Turkey’s southern border, to plot terror attacks in Turkey. Ankara has long been stressing that it will not tolerate terror threats posed against its national security and has called on Iraqi officials to take the necessary steps to eliminate the terrorist group.
Meanwhile, in eastern Turkey, security forces seized ammunition and supplies belonging to the PKK terrorist group.
The supply cache was located when gendarmerie forces launched an operation to find hideouts, shelters and warehouses of the terrorist group in Turkey's Ipekyolu district of Van province, according to a statement from the provincial governor's office.
Two AK-47 Kalashnikov infantry rifles, one Simonov infantry rifle, and a number of grenades and bullets were seized in the operation, the statement said.
The ammunition was destroyed at the scene, it added.
In its more than 40-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union – has been responsible for the deaths of at least 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.
