ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Officials say that Turkish security forces have used an armed drone to locate and kill six Kurdish militants who allegedly were responsible for kidnapping and killing a school teacher in southeast Turkey.

The governor's office for Tunceli province said Thursday the six were killed in an operation near the town of Nazimiye. Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said through Twitter: "our heroes have avenged our martyred teacher."

Teacher Necmettin Yilmaz was abducted and shot by suspected rebels of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, on June 16 while traveling from Tunceli to his hometown in northern Turkey. His body was discovered last week.

The PKK has waged a three-decade long insurgency in southeast Turkey. Violence flared again in 2015 after the collapse of a two-year peace process.