Turkish security forces have captured a suspected terrorist YPG/PKK member who is accused of driving a bomb-laden vehicle that exploded in northern Syria’s Afrin and killed 40 civilians, the Hatay Governor’s Office said Tuesday.

The terrorist was nabbed in the southern province, which is located near the border with Syria.

The statement released by the governor’s office noted that people injured in the attack have been receiving treatment at hospitals in Hatay and Afrin.

Earlier Tuesday, at least 40 civilians, including 11 children, were killed in the YPG/PKK terrorist attack in northwestern Syria, a region near Turkey's border, according to Turkey's Defense Ministry.

At least 47 others were also wounded in the attack in the Afrin city center carried out using a bomb-rigged fuel tanker.

Since 2016, Turkey has launched a trio of successful anti-terrorist operations across its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and enable peaceful settlement of locals: Euphrates Shield in 2016, Olive Branch in 2018, and Peace Spring in 2019.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union – has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children and infants. The YPG is the PKK's Syrian offshoot.