Terrorists were targeted in Operation Claw-Lock zone in northern Iraq and Operation Peace Spring zone in northern Syria, says National Defense Ministry
Turkish security forces "neutralized" six PKK/YPG terrorists in northern Iraq and northern Syria, Türkiye's National Defense Ministry said on Monday.
Three PKK terrorists were targeted in the Operation Claw-Lock zone in northern Iraq, the ministry stated on X, vowing that the Turkish Armed Forces will "continue to take preventive and destructive measures against terrorist organizations."
It added that three more terrorists were targeted in the Operation Peace Spring zone in northern Syria.
"We are determined to destroy terrorism at its source," the ministry said.
Turkish authorities use the term "neutralize" to imply the terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or captured.
PKK terrorists often hide 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.
