UPDATES WITH 3 MORE TERRORISTS NEUTRALIZED, REVISES HEADLINE, LEDE
By Gizem Nisa Cebi
ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkish security forces “neutralized” eight PKK/YPG terrorists in northern Iraq and northern Syria, the National Defense Ministry said on Monday.
In northern Iraq, three terrorists were “neutralized” in the Operation Claw-Lock area and two in the Hakurk region, the ministry said on X.
Turkish authorities use the term “neutralize” to imply the terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or captured.
Three other PKK/YPG terrorists, who were “preparing for an attack to disrupt the peace and security environment,” were “neutralized” in the Operation Euphrates Shield region in northern Syria.
Türkiye's fight against terrorism “continues effectively and decisively,” the ministry added.
In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US, and the 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.
PKK terrorists often hide out in northern Iraq to plot cross-border attacks in Türkiye.
Türkiye launched Operation Claw-Lock in April 2022 to target the PKK terror organization's hideouts in Iraq's northern Metina, Zap, and Avasin-Basyan regions near the Turkish border.
Since 2016, Ankara has launched a trio of successful anti-terror operations across its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and enable the peaceful settlement of residents: Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018), and Peace Spring (2019).