The Turkish military eliminated at least two terrorists affiliated with the PKK's Syrian offshoot, the YPG, in northern Syria near the border, the Defense Ministry said Friday.
The terrorists, who were preparing to carry out an attack in the Operation Euphrates Shield zone, were killed in a "successful operation" by "hero commandos," the ministry said on Twitter.
"All kinds of measures will continue to be taken for the continuation of peace and tranquility in the region," the statement said.
Since 2016, Turkey has launched a trio of successful anti-terror operations across its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and enable the peaceful settlement of residents: Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018), and Peace Spring (2019).
While the country liberated northwestern territories from Daesh, it also prevented the YPG from establishing a de facto autonomous region in Syria connecting the northwestern Afrin canton to the Ain al-Arab and Jazeera cantons in the northeast, which Ankara describes as a "terror corridor" posing a grave threat to its national security.
Districts in northern Syria under Turkish-backed opposition groups' control are regularly targeted by the YPG, which seized control of large swathes of land in the northern parts of the war-torn country with the Assad regime's blessing when clashes intensified in 2012.
In its more than 40-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US, and EU – has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.
