Turkish security forces have killed 1,162 members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in 181 operations within the country and outside its borders in 2021, the defense ministry said Sunday.
A total of 57 caves, 110 shelters, and 398 mines were destroyed, the ministry spokesperson Pinar Kara said at a press conference.
A total of 142 PKK members were killed in Pence-Simsek and Pence-Yildirim operations in northern Iraq, she noted, referring to a ground and air offensive against the PKK targets in Metina and Avasin-Basyan regions launched on April 23, reports Xinhua.
The PKK, listed as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, has been rebelling against the Turkish government for over 30 years, which has claimed the lives of more than 40,000 people.