The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) terrorists caused damage worth $10 billion to the Turkish economy, Binali Yildirim, Turkish prime minister, said in the government’s report, TRT Haber TV channel reported Sept. 2.

Yildirim added that the Turkish government is working out new plans for the development of the country’s south-eastern provinces, most affected as a result of the terrorist attacks for the past three years.

The conflict between Turkey and the PKK, which demands the creation of an independent Kurdish state, has continued for over 25 years and has claimed more than 40,000 lives.

The UN and the European Union list the PKK as a terrorist organization.