Türkiye ‘neutralizes’ 4 PKK/YPG terrorists in northern Syria

By Merve Berker

Turkish security forces "neutralized” four PKK/YPG terrorists in northern Syria, the National Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.

The terrorists, who were plotting an attack on Turkish soldiers, were targeted in Operation Euphrates Shield zone, according to the ministry.

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

The anti-terror operation came after the Dec. 29 PKK terror attack that killed 12 Turkish soldiers in northern Iraq. Turkish airstrikes, since then, have destroyed dozens of terror targets in northern Iraq and Syria, and neutralized several senior terrorists.

PKK terrorists often hide in northern Iraq to plot cross-border attacks in Türkiye. The group also has a Syrian branch, known as the YPG.

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.