A total of 15 PKK terrorists were "neutralized" in Turkey's eastern Tunceli and Siirt provinces as well as northern Iraq on Saturday, the Turkish military said.

Axar.az informs citing AA.

Turkish authorities often use the word "neutralize" in their statements to imply that the terrorists in question either surrendered or were killed or captured.

During air-supported operations in rural central Tunceli, Siirt's Pervari district, and Hakurk, northern Iraq, security forces "neutralized" the PKK terrorists, a military statement said.

The operations are still ongoing, the statement added.

In its more than 30-year terrorist campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of nearly 40,000 people.

More than 1,200 Turkish security personnel and civilians, including a number of women and children, have been killed since July 2015 alone, when the group resumed its terror campaign.