ANKARA: Turkey's Interior Minister says military operations against militants in the mainly Kurdish southeastern town of Cizre have ended.

However, Efkan Ala said Thursday that a 24-hour curfew in the town will remain in place for a while longer.

Turkey imposed curfews in Cizre and other mainly Kurdish towns and districts in December while its security forces battled militants linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, who set up barricades and bombs and dug trenches.

The fighting between the security forces and the PKK flared up in July, shattering a fragile peace process.