UPDATE - 36 terrorists neutralized in Turkey, northern Iraq

ADDS QANDIL OPERATION

By Yesim Sert Karaaslan

ANKARA (AA) - The Turkish army has neutralized 36 terrorists in anti-terror operations in both Turkey and northern Iraq, the military said early Tuesday.

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

In a statement, the Turkish General Staff said airstrikes on Sunday and Monday neutralized 26 terrorists.

The airstrikes neutralized terrorists in northern Iraq's Avasin-Basyan region, the Silopi area in eastern Turkey's Sirnak province, and the Hani area in the southeastern Diyarbakir province, the statement added.

Shelters and weapon emplacements used by terrorists were also destroyed during the operation, the statement said.

Airstrikes on PKK targets in northern Iraq have been carried out regularly since July 2015, when the PKK resumed its decades-long armed campaign.

In another statement, the Turkish General Staff said that another 10 PKK terrorists were neutralized in Qandil, northern Iraq -- the headquarters of the terrorist PKK -- on June 10.

Turkey has launched anti-terror operations in northern Iraq's Qandil and Sinjar regions, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on June 11.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey as well as the U.S. and the EU.

In its terror campaign against Turkey, which has lasted for more than three decades, over 40,000 people have been killed, including women and children.