13 Kidnapped Turkish Civilians Said Executed by PKK

Thirteen kidnapped Turkish civilians were executed by members of the Kurdish Workers Party, or PKK, in a cave in northern Iraq, Turkish officials said. Twelve of the dead civilians were shot in the head, and one was shot in the shoulder.

The bodies were discovered during a military operation against the PKK, Turkey’s Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said Sunday. Some 48 PKK members were killed during the military operation launched on February 10, as well as three Turkish soldiers, Akar said.

The PKK said in a statement that the kidnapped Turks included Turkish intelligence, police and military personnel, and that they had been killed during attacks in the area, not by PKK members, Reuters reported.

The PKK has waged a decades-long insurgency in southwest Turkey with a view to gaining autonomy. It has been designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and European Union.