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Turkey detains 58 PKK rebels in southeast

Xinhua, January 8, 2016 Adjust font size:

Turkish security forces detained 58 members of the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) in southeastern Turkey later Thursday while they attempted to escape, the military said on Friday.

Several PKK members were trying to flee the area by disguising themselves in women's clothes, including skirts and scarves, the military said.

Turkey's ongoing military operations have killed 95 PKK militants in Silopi town of the southeastern Sirnak province, 221 in Sirnak's Cizre town, and 68 others in Sur town of southeastern Diyarbakir province since mid-December.

Last month, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said more than 3,100 PKK rebels had been killed in Turkey and northern Iraq. Around 300 soldiers, police and civilians have lost their lives since the conflict reignited in late July, according to officials.

The PKK negotiated a cease-fire with Ankara in 2013, but the truce fell apart in the wake of a suicide bomb attack on July 20, 2015, in the border town of Suruc in the southeastern province of Sanliurfa. Some 34 pro-Kurdish and left-wing activists were killed.

Tension has been running high since then, especially in southeastern Turkey.

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