Türkiye neutralizes 21 PKK/YPG terrorists in northern Syria, Iraq

Türkiye "neutralized" 21 PKK/YPG terrorists in northern Syria and Iraq, near the Turkish border, the country's National Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.

According to the ministry, 20 PKK/YPG terrorists were targeted in the areas in northern Syria of Türkiye's Operation Euphrates Shield and Operation Peace Spring, while one was targeted in the Operation Claw-Lock zone in northern Iraq.

The ministry's statement emphasized Türkiye's ongoing efforts to thwart terrorist attacks by taking preventive and destructive actions.

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

PKK terrorists often hide out in northern Iraq to plot cross-border attacks in Türkiye.

Türkiye in 2022 launched Operation Claw-Lock to target the terror group's hideouts in northern Iraq's Metina, Zap, and Avasin-Basyan regions.

In northern Syria, Ankara has launched a trio of successful anti-terror operations since 2016 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 40-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 over 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants. The YPG is PKK's Syrian offshoot.

The terrorist PKK/YPG has sought to exploit the uncertainty since the Assad regime's fall to step up efforts to establish a "terrorist corridor" along the border with Türkiye.