Türkiye neutralised 59 PKK terrorists in Iraq, N Syria since 23rd December

Turkish security forces have “neutralised” 59 PKK terrorists in Iraq and northern Syria, near the Turkish borders, the country’s National Defence Minister Yasar Guler said.

“We carried out air operations on 71 targets in northern Iraq and Syria, resulting in the neutralising of 59 terrorists through operations, clashes, and other means,” the ministry said on Wednesday in a statement posted on X.

Turkish authorities use the term "neutralise" to imply the terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or captured.

"As we have always stated, our fight against terrorism will continue until the last terrorist is neutralised," Guler said.

Turkish intelligence neutralises another senior PKK terrorist in N Iraq

Turkish intelligence teams have “neutralised” a senior PKK terrorist in northern Iraq, security sources said.

The National Intelligence Organization (MIT) located Zeynep Eyveri, codenamed Aryen Are, in the rural Penjavin region of Iraq’s Sulaymaniyah city, the sources said on Wednesday.

Eyveri was responsible for the actions of female terrorists along the Iran-Iraq border.

The terrorist, who was plotting an attack against military bases in northern Iraq, was “neutralised” by Turkish intelligence before she carried out the attack.

The anti-terror operation came after Friday's PKK terror attack that killed 12 Turkish soldiers in northern Iraq. Turkish air strikes, since then, have destroyed dozens of terror targets in northern Iraq and Syria, and neutralised senior terrorists.

PKK terrorists often hide out in northern Iraq to plot cross-border attacks in Türkiye. It also has a Syrian branch, known as the YPG.

Four more PKK/YPG terrorists in northern Syria

Turkish security forces also “neutralised” four PKK/YPG terrorists in northern Syria, the National Defence Ministry said later on Wednesday.

Some of the terrorists, who were plotting an attack on Turkish soldiers, were taken down in Olive Branch and Peace Spring operation zones, the ministry stressed in a statement.

Since 2016, Ankara has launched a trio of successful anti-terror 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 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organisation by Türkiye, the US, and the EU – has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.