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Four people affiliated with the PKK terrorist group’s Syria wing YPG were eliminated in northern Syria, the Defense Ministry announced on Monday. The ministry said in a social media post that the terrorists were preparing for an attack on the “Euphrates Shield region.”
Euphrates Shield is the name of a cross-border military operation by Türkiye conducted between August 2016 and March 2017. The operation, in coordination with the Syrian opposition army, cleared an area in Syria’s north of the Daesh and YPG terrorist groups.
Since 2016, Ankara has launched a trio of successful counterterrorism operations across its border in northern Syria, including Olive Branch in 2018 and Peace Spring in 2019, to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and enable the peaceful settlement of residents.
PKK terrorists often hide out in northern Iraq to plot cross-border attacks in Türkiye and northern Syria. YPG terrorists have targeted locals and Turkish soldiers present in the region to help maintain order and stability. In its more than 40-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the U.S. and the EU – has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.
Last month, Türkiye’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) destroyed 23 strategically critical targets belonging to the PKK. The strikes were against energy and infrastructure as well as so-called military and intelligence facilities, including ammunition depots and high-ranking terrorists. These included five critical infrastructure sites used for terror purposes by the PKK/YPG, three checkpoints, eight so-called military facilities, two ammunition depots, two logistics depots and two technical vehicle depots. The agency also struck high-ranking members of the organization in the region, which security sources said would continue until the planned targets were achieved. The operations came after nine Turkish soldiers were killed in a clash with PKK terrorists in northern Iraq, where Türkiye has been conducting Operation Claw-Lock against the terrorists.
