261 terrorists killed in 3 districts in southeast

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu canceled a planned meeting with the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) on Saturday, saying its politics were rooted in violence, as government forces pursued a security operation in the mainly Kurdish southeast.

An anti-terrorist operation has been ongoing in the southeastern provinces of Diyarbakir, Sirnak and Mardin since mid-December, with curfews declared to fight the terrorists nested in houses abandoned by many citizens.

Two police officers have been killed in Turkey’s predominantly Kurdish southeast during operations to push back Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants, the Dogan news agency said on Friday.

Most of the casualties were recorded in Cizre and Sur as well as Silopi, also in Sirnak province.

PKK is considered a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US and EU.

At least five police officers were wounded during clashes with the PKK in the same district and sent to Cizre State Hospital for treatment, the Turkish General Staff’s statement read. On Thursday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said 3,100 PKK members had been killed in Turkey and northern Iraq over the previous year.

“Our security forces are continuing to cleanse every place of terrorists, in the mountains and in the cities, and will continue to do so”, Erdogan said in reference to the PKK members.

Turkey has been fighting a counterinsurgency campaign against the PKK since the group ended a two-year ceasefire in July.

The PKK launched a formal insurgency against the Turkish state in 1984, initially fighting for Kurdish independence although it now presses more for greater autonomy. Thousands of people have escaped the town before the Turkish authorities imposed a curfew, while tens of thousands of others remain trapped in the town.

Meanwhile, Moscow, which fell out with Turkey last month following the downing of a Russian warplane over the Syrian border, angered Ankara by voicing concern over operations in southeast Turkey and citing human rights reports on civilian victims.