Turkey: 115 PKK Rebels Killed in Recent Military Operations

Turkish military operations in the southeast have killed 115 Kurdish rebels since Dec. 15, a state-run news agency reported Monday.
Turkey: 115 PKK Rebels Killed in Recent Military Operations
A masked protester holds a petrol bomb during clashes with Turkish police using water cannons and tear gas to disperse a demonstration in Istanbul, protesting security operations against Kurdish rebels in southeastern Turkey, on Dec. 20, 2015. The number of Kurdish rebels killed in a massive Turkish military offensive in the restive southeast has jumped to 115, as the operation entered its fifth day. The government has imposed curfews in the mainly Kurdish towns of Cizre and Silopi as security forces battle militants linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Cagdas Erdogan/AFP/Getty Images
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ISTANBUL—Turkish military operations in the southeast have killed 115 Kurdish rebels since Dec. 15, a state-run news agency reported Monday.

Most of the casualties were centered in the southeastern towns of Cizre and Silopi, both under 24-hour curfew, with 98 rebels killed, according to Anadolu Agency. Other casualties occurred in the provinces of Mardin and Diyarbakir.

The government says militants linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, have placed explosive devices, dug trenches and set up barricades in these areas. Turkey has vowed to press ahead with the operations until the region is clear of rebels.

On Monday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the operations would continue and vowed that the “terrorist organization” along with its supporters “will be buried in the trenches they have dug.”