A total of 23 rebels of the outlawed Kurdish Worker's Party (PKK) were killed in the two-day military operations in southeastern Turkey, the state-run Anatolia news agency reported on Thursday.

The Turkish security forces launched the military operations against the PKK group in the towns of Silopi and Cizre in Sirnak province in the past two days and killed 23 PKK militants, according to the report.

The PKK negotiated a ceasefire with Ankara in 2013, but the truce fell apart in the wake of a suicide bomb attack on July 20, which killed 33 pro-Kurdish and left-wing activists in the border town of Suruc in the southeastern province of Sanliurfa.

Tensions have been running high, especially in southeastern Turkey, as major military operations against PKK militants have been under way since July after a cease-fire failed.

The PKK is designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union and the United States.