ANKARA, July 30 (Xinhua) -- Turkish Defense Ministry said on Thursday that six PKK/YPG members were "neutralized" in northern Iraq and northern Syria.
Three PKK members, identified through surveillance and reconnaissance, were neutralized by an air operation by Turkish forces in the Avasin-Basyan region in northern Iraq, the ministry said in a statement, stressing that the operation will continue.
In a separate statement made by the ministry, three other PKK/YPG fighters, who were preparing to attack the area of Operation Peace Spring in Syria, were also neutralized.
The term "neutralized" was used by the Turkish authorities to imply the extremist in question surrendered or was captured or killed.
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 over 30 years, which has claimed the lives of more than 40,000 people. Enditem
