Infiltration attempts by the YPG/PKK terrorists in southern Turkey’s Amanos Mountains have come to a complete halt as a result of observation points and bases set up in areas cleared by the Turkish military from terrorists in northern Syria two years ago. The terrorists can no longer attempt to extend their control over the Amanos and Taurus mountains and the Mediterranean Sea.
Each year, YPG/PKK terrorists had been carrying out attacks by hiding in Amanos Mountains in Hatay province near the Syrian border, but Turkey’s Operation Olive Branch has successfully prevented their plans this year, as it cleared terrorists from Darmiq, Qurni, Bursaya, Bak Ubasi Mountains and the mountains in Afrin province, Star daily reported.
After clearing secret tunnels and ammunition of the YPG/PKK, the Turkish military took control of the 30-kilometer-deep (18.64-mile-deep) area on the border and intelligence units mapped out the shelters used by the terrorists to prevent attacks.
No YPG/PKK terrorist has been able to illegally cross the border into Hatay since then, as intelligence units have satellite data about their routes and hideouts and can easily track them.
The report noted that Turkish soldiers stationed near Mount Bursaya and Darmiq successfully neutralized two groups of terrorists trying to infiltrate the border through Hatay and Kilis provinces.
Afrin had been a major stronghold for the YPG/PKK since July 2012, when the Bashar Assad regime in Syria left the city to the terror group without putting up a fight.
The Turkish military entered Afrin town center and liberated it from terrorists on March 18, 2018, with the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) and Syrian National Army (SNA) taking a total of six town centers, 282 villages, 23 strategic hills, one dam and 50 other strategic points.
With the liberation of Afrin city center, the operation was complete, with six towns, 282 villages, 23 strategic mountains and hills, one dam and 50 strategic points were finally under the control of the Turkish army and the FSA.
Turkey also prevented the YPG/PKK from establishing a de facto autonomous region in Syria connecting the Afrin canton to the Kobani and Jazeera cantons in the northeast, which Ankara described as a "terror corridor" posing a grave security threat to its national security.
