Türkiye neutralises 6 terrorists, captures 2013 Reyhanli suspect

Turkish security forces have "neutralised" six PKK/YPG terrorists in northern Iraq and northern Syria, Türkiye’s National Defence Ministry said on Monday.

Three PKK terrorists were targeted in the Operation Claw-Lock zone in northern Iraq, the ministry stated on X, vowing that the Turkish Armed Forces will "continue to take preventive and destructive measures against terrorist organisations."

It added that three more terrorists were targeted in the Operation Peace Spring zone in northern Syria.

"We are determined to destroy terrorism at its source," the ministry said.

In another major development, Turkish and Syrian authorities captured Muhammed Dib Korali in a joint operation. Korali is one of the perpetrators behind the 2013 terror attack in southern Türkiye that killed 53 people.

A widening net

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

PKK terrorists often hide in northern Iraq from where they plot cross-border attacks in Türkiye.

Türkiye in 2022 launched Operation Claw-Lock to target the terror group's hideouts in northern Iraq's Metina, Zap, and Avasin-Basyan regions.

In northern Syria, Ankara has launched a trio of successful anti-terror operations since 2016 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 40-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organisation by Türkiye, the US, and EU – has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants. The YPG is PKK's Syrian offshoot.

The terrorist PKK/YPG has sought to exploit the uncertainty since the Assad regime’s fall.