Türkiye ‘neutralizes’ 64 PKK/YPG terrorists over past week in n Iraq, Syria

Turkish security forces "neutralized" 64 PKK/YPG terrorists in northern Iraq and northern Syria over the past week, the country's Defense Ministry said Thursday.

"Sixty-four terrorists were neutralized in the past week. Thus, the total number of terrorists neutralized in northern Iraq and Syria since Jan. 1 has reached 1,652," Rear Admiral Zeki Aktürk, the ministry's spokesman, said at a weekly news conference in the capital Ankara.

Aktürk said 796 of the 1,652 terrorists were "neutralized" in northern Iraq, with the remaining 856 in northern Syria.

He also said that 395 people, including three members of terrorist organizations, were nabbed while attempting to cross the border illegally over the past week, while 973 others were prevented from crossing.

"The number of people apprehended while attempting to cross our borders illegally since Jan. 1, 2024 has risen to 7,807, and the number of people prevented from crossing the border has reached 67,948," he said.

Turkish authorities use the term "neutralize" to imply that the terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or captured.

In its nearly 40-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK - listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US and the European Union - has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women, children and infants. The YPG is the PKK's Syrian offshoot.

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On claims made by media outlets close to the PKK terrorist organization, the security sources said that operations in the Claw region are continuing "effectively and successfully" and that coordination with Iraq is both positive and increasing daily.

"The recent increase in the number...