3,524 militants ‘neutralized’ so far in Afrin operation: Turkish military

ANKARA

A total of 3,524 militants have been “neutralized” since the start of “Operation Olive Branch” in Syria’s northwestern Afrin district, the Turkish General Staff said in a statement on March 15. 

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

On Jan. 20, Turkey launched “Operation Olive Branch” to clear the Syrian-Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) militant group from Afrin.

Ankara deems the YPG a “terror group” for its links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

Turkish jets hit eight PKK targets in northern Iraq 

Meanwhile, Turkish jets have destroyed eight PKK targets in northern Iraq, the military said on March 15.

The airstrikes were carried out on March 14 in northern Iraq’s Hakurk and Zap regions and caught the PKK as the group was preparing for attacks, the Turkish General Staff said in a statement.

Airstrikes on PKK targets in northern Iraq, where the group has its main base in the Mt. Qandil region, near the Iranian border, have been carried out regularly since July 2015.

Separately, in Turkey’s southeastern Diyarbakır province, eight caves, 14 shelters, and three PKK positions were destroyed by Turkish forces, according to a statement by the governor’s office.

The statement said the operation against the group began on March 10 and ended on March 14 in the villages of Kayıköy, Kırkpınar, and Kurşunlu in Dicle, Diyarbakır, and in the northern Görüse Dağı Hill region.

During the operation, three soldiers were killed, and four others were injured, including one in serious condition, the statement added.

Many ammunition and weapons, including rocket launchers, infantry rifles, Kalashnikovs, guns, hand grenades, packs of anti-tank ammo, anti-personnel ammo and cartridges, as well as water, food, and living supplies were seized during the four-day operation.