Turkish airstrike "neutralizes" four PKK members in KRI

Shafaq News/ On Friday, the Turkish Ministry of Defense announced that it had "neutralized" four members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in an airstrike in the Asos area of Duhok Governorate in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Turkiye uses the term "neutralize" to indicate that the targets were killed, captured, or surrendered.

In addition, the Ministry reported on Thursday that it had neutralized 63 PKK members in a week, as part of the operations carried out by the armed forces inside and outside Turkiye.

Zeki Aktürk, the Ministry's spokesman, said at a press conference in Ankara that since the beginning of 2023, the military operations in northern Iraq and Syria had resulted in the neutralization of 2,541 PKK members.

Notably, Turkiye has launched several military operations against the PKK in northern Iraq since 2020, involving airstrikes, ground incursions, and special forces.

Turkiye claimed to have neutralized thousands of PKK members and destroyed their hideouts, while the PKK resisted and inflicted losses on the Turkish forces.

These operations have often sparked tensions with the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government, who have called on Ankara to respect Iraq's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The PKK is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkiye, the United States, and the European Union.