ANKARA, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- Turkish security forces killed seven members of the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) as they "attempted to infiltrate" into its cross-border operation zone in northern Syria, Turkey's Defense Ministry said Tuesday.
"Seven PKK/YPG terrorists, members of the separatist terrorist organization, attempted to infiltrate into the Operation Peace Spring area, and were neutralized," the ministry tweeted, noting its operations will continue "uninterruptedly."
The Turkish authorities often use the term "neutralized" to imply that the extremist in question was captured or killed.
Turkey sees the YPG 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
