Twelve terrorists of the PKK’s Syrian wing, the YPG, have been killed in northern Syria as Ankara retaliated after a recent attack on Turkish soldiers, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said late Monday.
Speaking in the central Kayseri province during an iftar dinner with earthquake victims, Akar underlined that Ankara continued its strategy to eradicate terrorism at its roots.
Four Turkish soldiers were injured in an attack carried out by the YPG/PKK terrorists in northern Syria on Sunday, the Defense Ministry said.
The terrorists attacked Turkish bases with simultaneous mortar and multiple rocket launchers in the Operation Olive Branch and Operation Euphrates Shield zones.
“Our soldiers immediately initiated the necessary counterattack. According to information received, 12 terrorists were killed in the Operation Olive Branch and Operation Euphrates Shield zones. We will continue our struggle until the last terrorist is eliminated,” the minister vowed.
Akar highlighted that the terrorists' only chance was to surrender to Turkish justice.
In separate remarks later in the day, the minister revealed Turkish forces had infiltrated a so-called “impenetrable” mountain cave the terrorists considered to be a fortress in the Zap region of northern Iraq, seizing countless ammunition and arms.
Reiterating Türkiye’s respect to the territorial integrity and sovereign rights of all its neighbors, especially Iraq and Syria, Akar said, the Turkish forces only target terrorists.
“We will save our nation from the plague that is terrorism,” he said.
Turkish soldiers are currently stationed in the region to protect the local population and support counterterrorism efforts.
Ankara launched Operation Euphrates Shield in 2016, its first cross-border operation into northern Syria, to decimate terrorist organizations threatening its safety, targeting Daesh, the PKK terrorist group, and the PKK's Syrian wing, the YPG. As part of the operation, Turkish forces have eliminated thousands of PKK/YPG terrorists in the region.
Euphrates Shield was followed by Olive Branch in 2018 and Peace Spring in 2019, with the same purpose of quashing the terror corridor the groups have been trying to establish alongside Türkiye’s southern border, bringing peace to the region and facilitating the safe return of displaced locals.
In its more than 40-year-long terrorist campaign against Türkiye, the PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States and the European Union, has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.
