The Death Toll of PKK Members in Recent Turkish Military Operations Reaches 773

Turkish news sources have reported that sixty more PKK militants were killed in an operation by Turkish security forces in the city of Cizre in the Şırnak province, bringing the total death toll of PKK members in operations in the southeastern regions of Cizre and the Sur neighborhood of Diyarbakir to 733. According to Daily Sabah, about 70 PKK militants were hiding in a basement, and 60 of them were killed in the Turkish security forces' attack on Sunday, February 6. The PKK resumed military operations against the Turkish army in late July 2015. Since then, more than 250 members of the Turkish security forces have been killed by the PKK, and thousands of PKK militants have been killed by the Turkish army. Meanwhile, the Turkish Armed Forces Command announced on Sunday that the number of PKK casualties in operations in the southeastern regions of Cizre and Diyarbakir has reached 733. According to Today’s Zaman, 10 PKK militants were killed on Saturday in Cizre, and 2 militants were killed in the Sur neighborhood of Diyarbakir. The statement also mentioned that various military weapons and ammunition were discovered during the operations. On Saturday, two individuals suspected of aiding and supporting the PKK were arrested in Van. The Turkish Armed Forces Command's statement added that on the same day, two PKK suspects attempting to illegally cross the border from Syria into Turkey were arrested with explosives in their possession. Additionally, on Saturday, six foreigners suspected of being ISIS members were arrested after crossing from Syria into the Gaziantep region of Turkey. The clashes in the cities have deprived thousands of elementary and high school students of attending school. Reuters reported that since the curfew in Diyarbakir was lifted on Wednesday, hundreds have fled the city out of fear of being harmed in the government’s clashes with the PKK. Diyarbakir is considered the largest city in southeastern Turkey and the center of the Kurdish population in the country. According to the Associated Press, hundreds gathered on Sunday around the United Nations building in Erbil, northern Iraq, to protest Turkey's airstrikes against the PKK. Local sources reported that three police officers were injured in clashes with the protesters. On Thursday, Turkish warplanes bombed several PKK positions in northern Iraq. The Turkish Armed Forces Command stated that about 40 aircraft targeted nearly 100 sites, including weapon and fuel depots, as well as residential buildings used by the PKK in the mountainous Qandil region. The newspaper Milliyet quoted Turkey's Interior Minister Efkan Ala as saying that similar security operations to those conducted to remove militants in the cities of Diyarbakir and Cizre would also take place in other urban areas. He also mentioned that there are other urban areas where militants may have stored weapons. In this context, Turkey reported the deaths of dozens of PKK members, stating that '70 members' of the PKK were killed in recent battles with the Turkish army. Ongoing unrest in Turkey: the death of two more police officers in Diyarbakir due to a bomb explosion.