ANKARA

Turkish security forces “neutralized” three PKK/YPG terrorists in northern Iraq near the Turkish border, the National Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.

Terror members were "neutralized" in Operation Claw-Lock zone, the ministry said in a statement.

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

PKK terrorists often hide out across the border in northern Iraq to plot terror attacks in Türkiye.

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

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

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 the terrorist PKK's Syrian branch.