3,820 militants ‘neutralized,’ 52 soldiers killed in Afrin operation so far: Turkish military

ANKARA

A total of 3,820 militants have been “neutralized” and 52 soldiers have been killed since the start of “Operation Olive Branch” in Syria’s Afrin region, the Turkish military said in a statement on March 31.

The Turkish authorities often use the word “neutralized” in their statements to imply the militants in question either surrendered or were killed or captured.

The General Staff added that 52 Turkish soldiers have been killed, while 229 soldiers have been wounded since the start of the Afrin operation.

Turkey launched “Operation Olive Branch” on Jan. 20 to clear Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) militants from Afrin in northwestern Syria.

Meanwhile, the General Staff also stated that at least 90 militants had been “neutralized” in Turkey’s eastern provinces of Bitlis and Bingöl, the southeastern provinces of Diyarbakır and Mardin, and in northern Iraq from March 24 to March 30.

The military added that the forces also seized a large amount of ammunition including rifles, rocket projectors, grenades, ammonium nitrate and C-4 explosives during the operations.

Four Turkish soldiers were also killed, while 10 others sustained injuries during the operations, the military added.