Around 20 militants of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) have been killed in clashes with Turkey’s security forces in Hakkari province, Eastern Turkey, local media reported Thursday. The intelligence services were able to spot a number of 30 militants and reported them to security forces who carried out an operation to strike their hiding areas. A total of 20 militants were estimated to be killed following the operation. Turkey’s TV station, TRT Haber TV channel said today the operation is still underway. Earlier, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the intelligence services, as well as other state agencies will do everything possible to resolve the problem of terrorism in Turkey. The conflict between Turkey and the PKK has lasted for over 25 years. The PKK is recognised as a terrorist organization by both the UN and the EU.