Turkish military neutralises 19 'terrorists' in Syria, Iraq

 July 21 (IANS) The Turkish military neutralised a total of 19 "terrorists" in operations in northern Iraq and northern Syria, the country's Defence Ministry said. The Turkish forces killed 15 members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Hakurk and Asos regions in northern Iraq, said the ministry in a statement, without specifying the time frame of the operations, Xinhua news agency reported. Turkish authorities often use the term "neutralised" in their statements to imply the "terrorists" in question surrendered or were killed or captured. Late Friday, the ministry announced that one Turkish soldier was killed in northern Iraq. In a separate operation in northern Syria, the Turkish forces killed four members of the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), the ministry said in a statement. "We will continue to fight with proactive and uninterrupted operations to eliminate terrorism at its source," said the statement. The Turkish army launched Operation Euphrates Shield in 2016, Operation Olive Branch in 2018, Operation Peace Spring in 2019, and Operation Spring Shield in 2020 in northern Syria to create a YPG-free zone along its border with the neighbouring country. Turkey sees the YPG group as the PKK's Syrian branch. The PKK, listed as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, has rebelled against the Turkish government for more than three decades. --IANS int/rs/svn