On Friday, Turkey’s Ministry of National Defense “neutralized” 52 YPG/PKK terrorists in northern Syria in a retaliatory fire for self-defense.
The sources who requested anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media stated that, after YPG/PKK terrorists’ attacks on the Karkamis district and Koprubati border post in Turkiye’s southeastern Gaziantep province on Thursday, at least 52 terrorists were neutralized in retaliatory strikes for self-defense on the terror group’s positions in northern Syria.
The sources added that nearly 60 terror targets were destroyed during the strikes.
The National Defense Ministry said in a statement that a Turkish soldier was killed and three others were injured in a blast caused by an improvised explosive device planted by the terrorists during Operation Claw-Lock in northern Iraq.
Since 2020, Turkey has launched successive operations against the PKK in northern Iraq, most recently starting Operation Claw-Lock in April to target PKK hideouts in Iraq’s Metina region.
The term “neutralize” is used by Turkish authorities to imply the terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or captured.
Ankara has launched a trio of successful anti-terror operations across its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor since 2016 and enable the peaceful settlement of residents. These operations are Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018), and Peace Spring (2019), respectively.
The PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US, and the EU, has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children and infants, in its more than 35-year terror campaign against the country. The YPG is the PKK’s Syrian offshoot.
