Eight PKK militants killed in southeast Turkey

Eight members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) have been killed in fighting with security forces in the southeastern town of Cizre, as the army launched major operations backed by curfews against urban-based PKK militants.

The clashes in Cizre, in the southeastern province of ??rnak resulted in "eight separatist terror organization members" being killed, the Turkish General Staff said in a written statement on its website on Dec. 16. 

Eight militants were "neutralized" after they opened fire on soldiers during operations in Cizre and Silvan, close to the Syrian border, on Dec. 15, said the statement. 

Open-ended curfews have been declared in both Cizre and Silvan, the latest in a succession of such measures across southeastern Turkey. 

Meanwhile, seven militants surrendered in the nearby Silopi district, which was also the site of fierce clashes. In the Suruç district of the southeastern province of ?anl?urfa, two PKK militants surrendered to security forces.

In the meantime, police officer Mustafa Nohut, 47, who was killed in a PKK attack in Diyarbak?r on Dec. 15, was laid to rest in the western province of K?r?kkale on Dec. 16. Another police officer Nuri Yazanel, who was killed in the same attack, was laid to rest in Kayseri on Dec. 16. Police Chief Ahmet Kabukçu, killed in the same attack, was laid to rest in Ankara after a ceremony at the central Kocatepe Mosque.

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