The joint operations carried out with the cooperation of Turkish security forces and the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) continue to deal a heavy blow to the PKK terrorists in northern Syria and northern Iraq.
Most recently, at least 11 PKK terrorists have been eliminated in northern Iraq, according to security sources on Sunday.
MIT eliminated four terrorists in Hakurk and two in the Metina region during an operation on Saturday, said the sources, requesting anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.
Separately, five terrorists were targeted in the Operation Claw-Lock and Operations Claw-Tiger, the Defense Ministry said on Twitter.
PKK terrorists often hide out in northern Iraq and plot terror attacks in Türkiye, across the border.
Turkish forces also killed three PKK terrorists in northern Iraq, border areas which terrorists hostile to Türkiye use as hideouts, the Defense Ministry said Saturday.
The terrorists were targeted in the Operation Claw-Lock zone, the Defense Ministry said on Twitter.
"The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) continues its fight against terrorists effectively and decisively," it added.
Türkiye launched Operation Claw-Lock in April to target the PKK terrorist group's hideouts in Iraq's northern Metina, Zap and Avasin-Basyan regions, near the Turkish border.
It was initiated after Operations Claw-Tiger and Claw-Eagle to root out terrorists hiding in northern Iraq and plotting cross-border attacks in Türkiye.
Turkish forces also killed five YPG terrorists in northern Syria, authorities said on Saturday.
The terrorists were planning an attack on Türkiye's Operation Peace Spring zone when security forces targeted them near the Turkish border, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.
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).
In its more than 40-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union – has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women, children and infants. The YPG is the PKK's Syrian offshoot.
Turkish security forces also eliminated three PKK terrorists, two of whom were wanted, the country's interior minister said on Saturday.
The terrorists were targeted in the rural areas of Ağrı's Diyadin district in an air raid as part of Operation Eren Abluka-10 on Thursday, according to a statement by the ministry.
Two of them were in the green category of the Interior Ministry's wanted list.
The list is divided into five color-coded categories, with red being the most wanted, followed by blue, green, orange and gray.
Interior Ministry Süleyman Soylu also shared footage of the operation on Twitter.
