Turkish security forces have killed 26 Kurdish militants in the past week, the Turkish defense ministry said, even as the militants’ imprisoned leader called on his group to disband and his fighters declared a ceasefire.
A defense ministry statement said the militants were killed in military operations in areas including the north of Iraq and Syria. It did not provide details on the circumstances of the clashes.
“Our Turkish Armed Forces will continue its operations and its search-and-scan activities in the region for the survival and security of our country,” the ministry said. It added the military would “continue the fight against terrorism with determination until not a single terrorist remains.”
The banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, declared a ceasefire in the 40-year insurgency against the Turkish government on Saturday, responding to a call to disarm by the group’s leader, Abdullah Ocalan, on February 27.
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