Ministry: 5 PKK/YPG terrorists neutralized

ANKARA

Five PKK/YPG terrorists who were preparing to attack the Operation Peace Spring and Operation Euphrates Shield zones have been neutralized, the Defense Ministry has announced.

“We did not allow the terror corridor to be created in our south, we will not,” the ministry said in a Twitter post.

Turkish army launched a trio of anti-terror operations - Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018) and Peace Spring (2019) - across the country’s border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and enable the peaceful settlement of residents.

In recent months, Türkiye has started providing transport, accommodation and food support to Syrian families that wish to return to Syria.

The term “neutralized” is used by the Turkish military and officials to indicate terrorists were either killed, wounded, or captured. The ministry ranks those included on the list in five color-coded categories from red (most wanted) to blue, green, orange and grey.

During its more than 35-year terror campaign, the PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the U.S. and the European Union, has been responsible for the deaths of at least 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.