Turkey neutralizes 5 PKK terrorists in northern Iraq

By Ahmet Gencturk

ANKARA (AA) - Turkish security forces have neutralized at least five PKK terrorists in northern Iraq, the National Defense Ministry on Sunday.

Of the terrorists, three were targeted in the anti-terror Operation Pence-Simsek area with attack helicopters and artillery, while the other two were neutralized in an airstrike in the Zap region as they were preparing to launch a terror attack, the ministry said on Twitter.

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

The Pence operations are a series of offensives Turkey has been carrying out since 2019 against terrorist organizations in northern Iraq, particularly the PKK.

The latest operations are the Pence-Simsek and Pence-Yildirim, launched on April 23 in the Metina and Avasin-Basyan regions in norther Iraq near Turkey's border.

The PKK terror group often hides out in northern Iraq, just across Turkey's southern border, to plot terror attacks in Turkey.

In its over 35-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US, and the EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of at least 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.