Turkish Armed Forces kill 12 YPG/PKK terrorists in Syria

Turkish Armed Forces have neutralised 12 YPG/PKK in a successful operation in northern Syria.

The operations were carried out with fire support from artillery and aviation, according to Caliber.Az, the Turkish National Defence Ministry said on its Twitter page.

Thus, since August 10, a total of 21 terrorists have been neutralised in northern Iraq and Syria.

Teröristlerin korkulu rüyası Kahraman Komandolarımız, her nerede olurlarsa olsunlar PKK/YPG’li teröristleri hendeklere gömmeye devam ediyor.

Suriye’nin kuzeyinde saldırı hazırlığı yapan 12 terörist başarılı bir operasyonla etkisiz hâle getirildi.

Böylece dün ve bugün Irak’ın… pic.twitter.com/G7nQ1WO9QX

— T.C. Millî Savunma Bakanlığı (@tcsavunma) August 11, 2023

The PKK is blacklisted as a terrorist organization in Türkiye, along with the United States and the European Union. It has waged a bloody insurgency in Türkiye since 1984 that has claimed tens of thousands of lives, including women and children.

Ankara maintains dozens of military bases in northern Iraq where it regularly launches operations against the group, which has maintained a stronghold in the Qandil Mountains since the 1990s. Operation Claw-Lock was the latest offensive launched in April 2022 to target the group's hideouts in the Metina, Zap and Avasin-Basyan regions.

Türkiye has so far stopped 586 terrorists in the said region, a ministry official reported on August 10.

Since this January, the PKK and its Syrian wing, the YPG, have carried out 86 harassment incidents and attacks in Türkiye's operation areas, and 744 terrorists were "neutralized" with the immediate intervention of Turkish soldiers. Turkish authorities use the term "neutralize" to imply that the terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or captured.

Ankara has previously said that it would not shy away from targeting terrorist threats if the Iraqi officials failed to take the necessary steps to eliminate the terrorist group.