UPDATE - Türkiye 'neutralizes' 9 PKK terrorists in N.Iraq, N.Syria

UPDATES WITH ADDITIONAL OPERATIONS IN NORTHERN SYRIA; CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK, LEDE; ADDS MORE BACKGROUND

By Merve Berker

ANKARA (AA) - Turkish security forces “neutralized” nine PKK terrorists in northern Iraq and northern Syria, authorities said on Monday.

Three of the terrorists were targeted in airstrikes in Iraq’s Gara region, the Turkish National Defense Ministry said in a statement.

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

Ankara has been carrying out several anti-terror offensives in northern Iraq to root out terrorists who hide in these areas and plot cross-border attacks on Türkiye.

Meanwhile, six other PKK terrorists, who were planning a plot against Turkish soldiers, were also targeted in zones of Operation Euphrates Shield and Operation Peace Spring, the ministry said in another statement.

“We are continuing to punish terrorists, whose one and only aim is to shed blood in the region,” the statement underscored.

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 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.