Military offensive kills 110 Kurdish militants

Turkey seizes 148 blank European passports at airport

DIYARBAKIR, Dec 20, (Agencies): Gunfire and clashes persisted overnight in the southeastern Turkish town of Cizre, the heart of a large-scale security offensive now in its sixth day in which 110 Kurdish militants have so far been killed, security sources said on Sunday.

Most of the fighting took place in Cizre and Silopi, towns near the Iraqi and Syrian borders that have been under curfew for almost a week. Nusaybin and Dargecit in the border province of Mardin and the historical Sur district of Diyarbakir, the region’s biggest city, have also seen fierce battles.

A two-year ceasefire between Turkey and militants of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fell apart in July, shattering peace talks and reviving a conflict that has ravaged the mainly Kurdish southeast for three decades.

The latest security operations, which media reports said were being conducted with 10,000 police and troops backed by tanks, were the largest since the end of the ceasefire.

Tanks deployed on hills surrounding Cizre have shelled PKK targets inside the city while a military convoy of 30 armoured vehicles stormed one of the districts. Around 300 houses have been damaged by the clashes and undetonated mortar shells lie inside buildings, security sources and witnesses said.

One Turkish soldier hurt in clashes in Cizre on Saturday has died of his wounds, the security sources said. A postman working for the state mail company has also died after PKK militants attacked his vehicle on the highway to Sirnak, they said. Although traditionally rooted in the countryside, the PKK has shifted its focus in recent years to towns and cities in the southeast, digging trenches and setting up barricades in streets to keep security forces away.

In another incident, A Turkish government official says authorities at Istanbul’s main airport have detained two people suspected of attempting to smuggle 148 blank European passports concealed in pizza-making equipment.

The official said Friday that the passports, seized at Ataturk Airport earlier this week, were originals. Most were French passports but also included passports from Germany, Britain and Ireland.