The Turkish military eliminated five YPG/PKK terrorists who dug tunnels to carry out an attack against Turkish soldiers in Operation Peace Spring area in northern Syria, the Defense Ministry said Wednesday.

The ministry said that the military continues to take revenge of Turkish security forces killed by the PKK terrorists.

Three members of gendarmerie forces were killed and a village guard was heavily injured during a counterterrorism operation in southeastern Türkiye, the Interior Ministry reported on Tuesday.

It is the highest number of casualties in recent months in operations against the terrorist group, which severely lost its support in Türkiye in the past two decades thanks to intense counterterrorism operations. The deaths came one day after Türkiye’s presidential and parliamentary elections. The months leading to the polls were largely uneventful regarding attacks by the PKK or other terrorist groups, but the terrorist group and its activities were the main themes of the election campaigns.

The PKK is responsible for over 40,000 civilian and security personnel deaths in Türkiye over an almost four-decade campaign of terror. Türkiye has been conducting military operations in northern Iraq since 2019, with ground and air forces to battle the organization.