ANKARA, Jul 29 (NNN-TRT) – The Turkish military has neutralised a total of 16 “terrorists” in operations in northern Iraq and northern Syria, the country’s Defence Ministry said, yesterday.
The Turkish forces killed 11 members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Hakurk, Gara and Asos regions, in northern Iraq, said the ministry in a statement, without specifying the time frame of the operations.
Turkish authorities often use the term “neutralised” in their statements to imply the “terrorists” in question surrendered or were killed or captured.
In a separate operation in northern Syria, the Turkish forces “neutralised” five members of the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), the ministry said in a statement.
The Turkish army launched Operation Euphrates Shield in 2016, Operation Olive Branch in 2018, Operation Peace Spring in 2019, and Operation Spring Shield in 2020, in northern Syria, to create a YPG-free zone along its border with the neighbouring country.
Türkiye sees the YPG group as the PKK’s Syrian branch.
The PKK, listed as a terrorist organisation by Türkiye, the United States and the European Union, has rebelled against the Turkish government for more than three decades.– NNN-TRT