Türkiye 'neutralizes' 5 more PKK/YPG terrorists after border attack from northern Syria

By Busra Nur Cakmak

ANKARA (AA) - Turkish security forces "neutralized" five PKK/YPG terrorists after an attack on the country's border from northern Syria, Türkiye's National Defense Ministry announced Monday.

"After the terrorist organization PKK/YPG attacked the Cibrin Base area and Oncupinar police campus in the Euphrates Shield region yesterday, seven terrorists, including two so-called leaders of the terrorist organization, were neutralized," said the ministry on Twitter.

The number of terrorists neutralized "as a result of ongoing self-defense operations" has risen to 12, it added.

The PKK/YPG terror group in northern Syria fired five rockets that landed near the border in southern Türkiye, security sources said Sunday.

The rockets fell in the Oncupinar Border Gate area in Kilis province, sources said on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

No casualties were reported and security measures have been increased in the region.

Meanwhile, the Turkish National Defense Ministry said that the armed forces immediately began to hit the site from where the attack was carried out.

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.

PKK/YPG terrorists hide out in northern Syria, near the Turkish border, where they plan and carry out attacks on both locals and nearby settlements in Türkiye.

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).