Türkiye has eliminated a total of 16 terrorists from the PKK and YPG in northern Iraq and Syria, the Defense Ministry announced Sunday.
The ministry said that 14 PKK terrorists were detected in the Hakurk and Metina regions of northern Iraq and eliminated by the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK).
The other two PKK/YPG terrorists were eliminated in the Euphrates Shield operation zone in northern Syria, it added on X.
"Operations will continue with determination and resolve to eliminate terrorism at its source!" the ministry further said.
The PKK took up arms against the Turkish state in 1984 and is designated a terrorist organization by Ankara and its Western allies.
Since Turkish operations have driven its domestic presence to near extinction, the PKK has moved a large chunk of its operations to northern Iraq, including a stronghold in the Qandil Mountains, located roughly 40 kilometers (25 miles) southeast of the Turkish border in Irbil.
Türkiye has, over the past 25 years, operated several dozen military bases in northern Iraq in its war against the PKK and has been conducting airstrikes as part of “Claw” operations since 2022 to demolish terrorist lairs and prevent the formation of a terrorist corridor along its borders.
Türkiye's cross-border operations into northern Iraq have been a source of tension with its southeastern neighbor for years. Ankara has asked Iraq for more cooperation in combating the PKK and Baghdad labeled the group a banned organization in March.
Last month, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held talks with officials in Baghdad and Irbil, the capital of Iraq's Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), about the continued presence of the PKK in northern Iraq and other issues. Erdoğan later said he believed Iraq saw the need to eliminate the PKK as well.
Ankara battles the PKK/YPG in the country’s northern regions, conducting a trio of successful counterterrorism operations there 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).
