Operations in Turkeys southeastern Cizre district successfully finished, interior minister Ala says
Interior Minister Efkan Ala announced on Thursday that counterterror operations in Şırnak's Cizre district have ended. Speaking to reporters in Istanbul, Ala said that counterterror operations against the PKK are over in the southeastern district of Şırnak but security forces will continue to monitor some areas for criminal activity. He stressed that there could still be booby traps and landmines in the district but that the state has taken control, successfully completing operations. Since the imposition of a weeks-long curfew in the district, security forces have cleared the region of PKK tunnels and filled ditches previously dug by the PKK, inflicting heavy losses on the terrorist organization. The majority of casualties suffered by the police and the Turkish military were due to roadside bombs and rockets fired at military vehicles. Operations in the southeastern districts of Sur, Cizre and Silopi have rid the are of more than 718 terrorists since mid-December, according t