Türkiye ‘neutralizes’ 13 PKK/YPG terrorists in northern Syria, Iraq

By Esra Tekin

ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkish security forces “neutralized” a total of 13 PKK/YPG terrorists in northern Syria and northern Iraq, the National Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.

Turkish authorities use the term “neutralize” to imply that the terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or captured.

Türkiye’s National Defense Ministry said on X that 11 PKK/YPG terrorists were targeted in the Operation Euphrates Shield and the Operation Peace Spring zones in northern Syria, while two PKK terrorists were targeted in the Gara region of northern Iraq.

Terrorists often hide out in northern Iraq, just across the Turkish border, to plot terror attacks in Türkiye.

Ankara has launched a trio of successful anti-terror operations since 2016 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 40-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 more than 40,000 people, including women, children, infants and the elderly. The YPG is the PKK’s Syrian offshoot.