Turkiye neutralizes 13 PKK members in KRI, Syria
Shafaq News/ On Friday, the Turkish army neutralized 13 members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) and Syria.
The Turkish Ministry of Defense announced in a post on X that the army neutralized six PKK fighters in the Gara region of KRI, and seven others in Operation Euphrates Shield and Operation Peace Spring areas in northern Syria.
Ara, bul, yok et! Kahraman Türk Silahlı Kuvvetlerimiz, Irak’ın kuzeyindeki Gara bölgesinde tespit ettiği 6 PKK’lı terörist ile Suriye’nin kuzeyindeki Barış Pınarı ve Fırat Kalkanı bölgesinde belirlediği 7 PKK/YPG’li teröristi etkisiz hâle getirdi. Teröristler, her nerede… pic.twitter.com/kcoy1dmg7r
— T.C. Millî Savunma Bakanlığı (@tcsavunma) January 31, 2025
No further details were provided yet.
Turkish authorities use the term “neutralize” to indicate that the individuals were either killed, wounded, or captured.
Operation Euphrates Shield (Fırat Kalkanı), launched on August 24, 2016, and concluded on March 29, 2017, targeted both Islamic State militants and Kurdish forces in northern Syria.
The operation resulted in the capture of key territories such as Jarabulus, al-Bab, and Dabiq, with Turkish forces securing an area of approximately 2,055 square kilometers.
Operation Peace Spring (Barış Pınarı), initiated by Turkiye on October 9, 2019, and wrapped up by November 25, 2019, aimed to establish a "safe zone" along the Turkish-Syrian border by driving Kurdish forces out of the region. During the operation, Turkish forces and their allies seized strategic locations including Ras al-Ayn, Tell Abyad, and portions of the crucial M4 highway, gaining control of around 4,820 square kilometers.
Notably, Turkiye conducts operations to combat the PKK, which targets its forces and citizens and operates in several countries in the region, including Iraq, Syria, and Iran.
The PKK, designated a terrorist organization by Turkiye, the United States, and the European Union, has been engaged in an armed struggle against the Turkish state since the 1980s, seeking greater autonomy for the Kurdish population in Turkiye.
This decades-long conflict has led to tens of thousands of deaths, with Turkiye conducting cross-border military operations to target PKK strongholds in Iraq and YPG positions in Syria, both of which Ankara views as extensions of the PKK.
