By Gozde Bayar
ANKARA (AA) – Turkish forces “neutralized” two YPG/PKK terrorists in Syria and Iraq, the National Defense Ministry said on Friday.
One terrorist was neutralized during an attempt to infiltrate the Operation Euphrates Shield zone in northern Syria, while the other was targeted in the Operation Pence-Yildirim area in northern Iraq, the ministry said on Twitter.
Turkish authorities use the term “neutralize” to imply the terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or captured.
Launched in 2016, Euphrates Shield is the first of a trio of successful anti-terror operations Turkiye has launched across its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and enable the peaceful settlement of residents.
It was followed by Operation Olive Branch in 2018 and Operation Peace Spring in 2019.
In northern Iraq, where PKK terrorists often hide out to plan terrorist attacks in Turkiye, Ankara has carried a series of anti-terror offensives, known as the Pence operations, since 2019.
Operation Pence-Yildirim and Pence-Simsek were launched last April in the Metina and Avasin-Basyan regions.
In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Turkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkiye, the US and EU – has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children and infants. The YPG is the PKK’s Syrian offshoot.