About 9 PKK militants killed as drone strike targets southeastern Turkey

At least nine members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militant group have been killed when the Turkish military carried out an airstrike on the country’s southeastern province of Sirnak.

The provincial governor's office said in a statement that the aerial assault took place in Bestler-Dereler region near the provincial capital city of Sirnak, situated some 1,000 kilometers east of the capital Ankara on Friday.

Security sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a policeman sustained injuries during the counter-terror operation. He later succumbed to his gunshot wounds.

Separately, Turkey’s Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli said Turkish forces have neutralized over 500 PKK terrorists in Iraq's northern semi-autonomous Kurdistan region since the beginning of the current year.

The Turkish military generally uses the term "neutralize" to signify that the militants were killed, captured or surrendered.

At least three Turkish soldiers were killed and another sustained injuries on June 4, when PKK militants launched a rocket attack in Turkey’s southeastern province of Hakkari.

Security sources, requesting anonymity, said Kurdish PKK terrorists mounted the assault from a mountainous area on the Iraqi side of the border.

SS