A group of PKK terrorists cornered in an air-backed Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) operation in northern Iraq have turned themselves in, footage shared by Türkiye’s National Defense Ministry revealed on Monday.
The four terrorists were preparing for an attack in the region, the ministry informed.
The video shows Turkish soldiers positioned in rocky terrain and communicating via radio link as they lead a coordinated effort from the ground and air to corner the terrorists.
While the troops surrounded the group, a squadron on a helicopter fired along escape routes to block off the group.
Turkish commandos took delivery of the terrorists as they laid down their weapons and came down from their hiding spots.
The ministry’s video also shows the pilot and the commandos congratulating one another over the radio before the helicopter leaves the scene. “Thank you for your work, Godspeed,” they say.
Along with the four terrorists, the security forces also seized four AK-47 assault rifles, 600 bullets for the rifles, 10 grenades, a radio set and sniper binoculars, the ministry said.
Meanwhile, Turkish forces have eliminated three more PKK/YPG terrorists in the Operation Peace Spring area of northern Syria, the Defense Ministry also announced Monday.
The PKK terrorist group's Syrian wing, the YPG, controlled much of northeastern Syria after the forces of Syrian regime leader Bashar Assad withdrew in 2012. They have been waging a bloody terrorist campaign against Türkiye and the region’s locals for decades, attacking security forces and civilians. The PKK has singlehandedly been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people since 1984, with its massacres peaking especially in the 1990s.
Ankara launched Operation Peace Spring in 2019, following the success of its previous counterterrorism operations Euphrates Shield (2016) and Olive Branch (2018), across its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and enable the peace settlement of residents.
