Turkey expands curfew areas in Diyarbakir

Turkish authorities have expanded the areas under curfew in the southeastern province of Diyarbakir in heightened security measures against Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants, the governor's office said early Thursday.

The number of villages under curfew rose from the original 25 to the current 39 in the province's Lice, Hani, Silvan and Hazro districts, the office said on its website.

Turkish Interior Minister Efkan Ala told the media on Wednesday that authorities are also stepping up efforts to cut the PKK' funding such as targetting its drug trade.

Also on Thursday, Turkish fighter jets hit PKK targets in southeastern Turkey and northern, Dogan New Agency reported.

On Wednesday, airstrikes were carried out in the southeastern provinces of Diyarbakir and Hakkari, destroying 20 PKK targets, the army's General Staff said.

One soldier was killed and two others wounded on Wednesday in a PKK attack in the southeastern province of Sirnak, General Staff said.

Over 470 members of Turkish security forces and thousands of PKK members have been killed in confrontations inside Turkey and in northern Iraq since last July.

More than 40,000 people have lost their lives in clashes with the PKK since 1984, when the group first started anti-government attacks.

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