According to a statement posted on the Turkish General Staff website Thursday, Turkish warplanes carried out airstrikes, killing 15 terrorists in the Metina and Hakurk regions of northern Iraq and the Şemdinli district of Turkey's southeastern Hakkari province."Security forces three times carried out airstrikes in the Metina region between 11.40 and 16.25 yesterday, and in the Hakurk region between 15.30 and 15.50, and in the rural area of Semdinli," said the statement.The airstrikes destroyed PKK positions, shelters, and caves, said the army.In addition, five PKK terrorists were killed in an air-backed operation in Şemdinli, Hakkari. The statement said three of the five terrorists were killed while they were about to carry out a bomb attack on a military vehicle on the Şemdinli-Aktütün highway.In addition, in an ongoing operation in the Nusaybin district of the Mardin province, three PKK terrorists were killed. Since the current operations began last summer, the total number of terrorists killed in Nusaybin is 388, said the army.Turkish security officers have killed 4,571 PKK terrorists since the launch of anti-terror operations on July 22, 2015, military sources said on May 11.
The number of killed terrorists include those killed in Turkey and also during the operations launched against the group in its northern Iraq camps.
The sources added that 695 were captured wounded, in addition to 716 others captured and 641 who surrendered to the security forces.The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and EU, resumed its 30-year armed campaign against the Turkish state in July, since when more than 430 members of the security forces have also been killed.Ankara has stated its determined stance against PKK terror organization, vowing to continue operations until all the terror threats are cleared off.