Türkiye ‘neutralizes’ seven PKK members in Iraq and Syria

Jul 29. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Turkish Ministry of Defense reported on Saturday that the Armed Forces have “neutralized” seven members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and related organizations in attacks in Syrian and Iraqi territory.

“Our heroic Armed Forces have neutralized three PKK terrorists identified in Operation Claw Closure in northern Iraq and four PKK/YPG (People’s Protection Units) terrorists in the Operation Peace Spring region in northern Syria,” the ministry said in a statement.

“Our operations continue with determination and resolve. We continue to fight terrorism and terrorists with all our might, for our beloved homeland,” he added.

The message is accompanied by a video showing several shots from artillery vehicles, rocket launchers and the take-off of an F-16 fighter jet, as well as the launching of several surface-to-air missiles. The forcefulness of the military means employed suggests that the neutralised PKK members could have been killed.

Since the PKK took up arms in 1984 to demand independence from Turkey’s Kurdish-majority southeast, more than 40,000 people have been killed in violence. The Turkish military operation is now expanding to northern Iraq and northern and northeastern Syria.