ANKARA

Turkish security forces "neutralized" eight PKK/YPG terrorists in northern Iraq and northern Syria, Turkey’s National Defense Ministry said on Sunday.

The ministry said on Twitter that three terrorists were neutralized in the Operation Pence-Yildirim zone in northern Iraq with an air operation, plus five others in the Operation Peace Spring area in northern Syria, both of the areas near Turkey’s southern borders.

Turkish authorities often use the word neutralized in statements to imply the terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or captured.

The terrorist PKK often uses bases in northern Iraq, just across Turkey’s southern border, to plot terror attacks in Turkey, and the YPG/PKK has tried to establish a terror corridor in northern Syria, targeting both Turkish soldiers and border areas.

Turkey has carried out a series of offensives since 2019 against terrorist groups in northern Iraq, particularly the PKK. The latest operations are Pence-Simsek and Pence-Yildirim launched this April in the Metina and Avasin-Basyan regions, following up on operations Pence-Kaplan and Pence-Kartal, which began in June 2020.

Also, 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 over 35-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US, and EU – has been responsible for the deaths of at least 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants. The YPG is the PKK's Syrian offshoot.