UPDATE WITH TERRORIST DEATH TOLL; CHANGES HEADLINE, SPOT, LEDE
By Esra Tekin
ISTANBUL (AA) – Turkish security forces “neutralized” 11 PKK terrorists in northern Iraq, said the Turkish Defense Ministry on Wednesday.
Earlier in the morning, three PKK terrorists were targeted and “neutralized” in the Operation Claw Lock zone as a result of the army’s “determined operations,” said the ministry on X.
The other eight terrorists were later “neutralized” in the same zone by an airstrike conducted by the country's armed forces, the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry said they will continue to destroy terrorists’ nests under the motto “Wherever the terrorist is, that’s our target.”
It added that they will continue operations “with determination until the last terrorist is neutralized.”
Turkish authorities use the term "neutralize" to imply the terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or captured.
Türkiye launched Operation Claw-Lock last year in April to target the PKK terror group’s hideouts in the Metina, Zap, and Avasin-Basyan regions of northern Iraq, located near the Turkish border.
In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK — listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US, and EU — has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.