68 PKK militants killed in operations in ??rnak: Official

At least 68 militants of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) have been killed in ongoing operations in the southeastern province of ??rnak over the last four days, a security official said on Dec. 19.

The country's top soldier, Chief of General Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar, meanwhile, paid a surprise visit to the province amid the operations.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Anadolu Agency that security forces had been operating in the towns of Cizre and Silopi, with 62 of the terrorists having been killed in the former.

One soldier was killed, and 22 others, including police officers, were wounded during the operations, according to the official. 

Another soldier was killed on Dec. 19 in Sur district of Diyarbak?r, where the operations are also ongoing.

Gen. Akar, meanwhile, attended a ceremony for the soldier killed in ??rnak, before receiving a briefing on the operations in the province. The top general also inspected the troops in the region.

A curfew was imposed on Cizre and Silopi on Dec. 14. Many citizens reportedly left the district before the curfew was imposed.

The PKK, considered a terrorist organization also by the U.S. and the EU, resumed its armed campaign in late July. 

Since then, more than 200 members of the security forces and over 1,700 PKK militants have been killed, according to the official numbers.

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