Turkish security forces ‘neutralize’ 8 terrorists in northern Iraq, Syria

By Esra Tekin

ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkish security forces “neutralized” eight terrorists in cross-border operations in northern Syria and northern Iraq, the Turkish National Defense Ministry said on Sunday.

In a statement on X, the ministry said that five PKK terrorists were “neutralized” in an air operation in the Claw-Lock Operation Zone.

“Our operations against the terrorist organization PKK in northern Iraq continue without slowing down,” the ministry said.

Türkiye launched Operation Claw-Lock in April 2022 to target the PKK terror group's hideouts in Iraq's northern Metina, Zap, and Avasin-Basyan regions near the Turkish border.

It was preceded by Operations Claw-Tiger and Claw-Eagle, launched in 2020 to root out terrorists hiding out in northern Iraq and plotting cross-border attacks in Türkiye.

In a separate statement, the ministry said that security forces “neutralized” three PKK/YPG terrorists in the Operation Peace Spring Zone.

It said they will continue to take action against PKK/YPG terrorists, whose “only aim is to shed blood in the region.”

PKK/YPG terrorists hide out in northern Syria, near the Turkish border, where they plan and carry out attacks on both locals and nearby settlements in Türkiye.

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).

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. The YPG is PKK’s Syrian offshoot.