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Update: 23 PKK rebels killed in military operations in SE Turkey

Xinhua, December 17, 2015 Adjust font size:

A total of 23 rebels of the outlawed Kurdish Worker's Party (PKK) were killed in the two-day military operations in southeastern Turkey, the state-run Anatolia news agency reported on Thursday.

The Turkish security forces had killed 22 PKK militants in the ongoing anti-terror operations in the Cizre town and another in Silopi town of Sirnak province, the report quoted a Turkish security official as saying.

Sirnak Governor Ali Ihsan Su was quoted as saying that the operations were ongoing in two districts of Sirnak province.

"Curfew will continue for the security of life and property of our citizens," said Su.

Su announced a new curfew in Cizre and Silopi towns on Monday and many citizens have reportedly left the town before the curfew was imposed.

The PKK negotiated a ceasefire with Ankara in 2013, but the truce fell apart in the wake of a suicide bomb attack on July 20, which killed 33 pro-Kurdish and left-wing activists in the border town of Suruc in the southeastern province of Sanliurfa.

Tensions have been running high, especially in southeastern Turkey, as major military operations against PKK militants have been under way since July after a cease-fire failed.

The PKK is designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union and the United States. Endit