ANKARA, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Turkish security forces killed two members of the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), and detained at least three others in northern Syria, Turkey's defense ministry said Tuesday.
The two "neutralized" YPG members "were preparing an attack in the Operation Euphrates Shield zone," the ministry tweeted.
Turkish authorities often use the word "neutralize" to imply the "terrorists" in question who were killed or captured.
The ministry also said the security forces arrested one YPG fighter in the Operation Euphrates Shield region and at least two others in the Operation Olive Branch region.
"They were attempting to disrupt peace and security" in northern Syria, it added.
Turkey sees the YPG group as the Syrian branch of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The Turkish army launched Operation Euphrates Shield in 2016, Operation Olive Branch in 2018, Operation Peace Spring in 2019, and Operation Spring Shield in 2020 in northern Syria in order to create a YPG-free zone along its border within the neighboring country.
The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the EU, has been rebelling against the Turkish government for more than 30 years, which has claimed the lives of more than 40,000 people. Enditem
