Turkish security forces eliminated at least 13 terrorists related to the PKK terrorist group near its borders on Saturday.
Ten terrorists from the PKK's Syrian branch, the YPG, were killed in northern Syria, across the border, authorities said Saturday.
According to the Defense Ministry, the terrorists attempted to attack the area of Operation Peace Spring, a Turkish cross-border counterterrorism operation.
It said on Twitter that Turkish soldiers had prevented the attempted attack by YPG terrorists, killing 10 of them.
Since 2016, Ankara has launched a trio of successful counterterrorism 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).
Turkish forces also eliminated three PKK terrorists in the Avashin region of northern Iraq, the Defense Ministry said Saturday.
The ministry said in a statement that the three PKK terrorists were located in the region as a result of joint coordination of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) and the National Intelligence Organization (MIT).
The terrorists were targeted in an aerial part of the Claw operations, it added.
The Claw operations are a series of offensives Turkey has been carrying out since 2019 against terrorist groups in northern Iraq, particularly the PKK.
The PKK terrorist group often hides in northern Iraq, just across Turkey's southern border, to plot attacks in the country.
In its more than 40-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States, and the European Union – has been responsible for the deaths of nearly 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.
Defense Minister Hulusi Akar had also announced Friday that Turkey has killed 18 terrorists since the YPG terrorist attack killed six civilians in northern Syria on Thursday.
"Our operations continue and we expect the number (of terrorists neutralized) to increase in the coming hours," Akar said during his meeting with troops in the southeastern Şırnak province near the border with Syria and Iraq.
The rocket attack by the YPG terrorists in the Afrin city center also injured 34 civilians, he said.
Accompanied by senior military officials, Akar met with commanders serving on and beyond the border via a video conference.
"The attacks came from the Tal Rifaat region. We have agreements with the countries that are our interlocutors on this issue. They commit to remove the terrorists there. We expect these countries to fulfill their commitments as soon as possible," the defense chief said.
In March 2018, the Turkish forces and the Syrian National Army (SNA) managed, through Operation Olive Branch, to liberate the Afrin region from the grip of the YPG terrorists after controlling it for six years.
Since the liberation of Afrin, the terrorist group has continued to target it from Tal Rifaat, where a Turkish-Russian agreement signed in October 2019 requires its withdrawal.
4 terrorists surrender
Meanwhile, four more PKK terrorists surrendered to security forces in Turkey as a result of persuasion efforts, the Interior Ministry announced on Sunday.
In a statement, the ministry said the four fled the terror group upon persuasion efforts by police and gendarmerie forces, and eventually surrendered.
They variously joined the terror group between 1992 and 2016 and operated in both Syria and Iraq as well as on Turkish soil.
With the latest surrenders, the number of terrorists who have laid down their arms through persuasion efforts in 2022 now rose to nine, it added.
In Turkey, offenders linked to terrorist groups who surrender are eligible for possible sentence reductions under a repentance law.
According to Turkish officials, in recent years the terrorist PKK - battered and demoralized by Turkish security forces' successful operations - has been losing members and failing to attract new ones.