ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish security forces have killed 99 Kurdish militants, including a high-ranking one, in operations in southeast Turkey over the last two weeks, the armed forces said on Saturday.

Security forces targeted outposts and caves used by the militants for shelter and storage in the southeastern provinces of Sirnak and Hakkari, near the Iraqi border, the military said in a statement.

“Ninety-nine terrorists have been neutralized. One is in the so-called leading ranks,” it said.

The outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), considered a terrorist organization by the United States, Turkey and the European Union, has waged a more than three-decade insurgency against the state.

The PKK, which seeks autonomy for the largely Kurdish southeast, has bases in the mountains on both sides of the Turkey-Iraq border and is frequently targeted by Turkish security forces.

The operations, which were carried out between Aug. 24 and Sept. 7, led to the seizure of 420 kg (925 lbs) of ammonium nitrate, used to make explosives, as well as bombs, guns and rifles, the military said.