Turkey–ISIL conflict

The Turkish military has "neutralized" 831 terrorists in cross-border operations in northern Iraq since April, said the defense authorities on Nov. 20.

According to the Defense Ministry, Turkish soldiers have seized nearly 1,300 weapons and 316,000 ammunitions belonging to the terrorists since Operations Pençe-Şimşek and Pençe-Yıldırım were launched in April.

A high-level defense group meeting between Turkish and U.S. officials was held in Washington, D.C., Turkey's National Defense Ministry said on Nov. 17.

At the meeting, which the ministry said was conducted in a positive and constructive atmosphere, the delegations exchanged views on bilateral and regional defense and security issues, it added in a statement.

Turkey and the United States have initiated separate talks for the former's request over the acquisition of 40 F-16 fighter jets and the reimbursement of payment for F-35 jets which the U.S. didn't deliver, the Turkish defense minister has said, informing that a Turkish delegation has been dispatched to Washington to this end. 

Turkey has started a new anti-terror operation in the country's eastern and southeastern provinces against the PKK terror group, the Interior Ministry announced on Nov. 15.

Turkish forces "neutralized" two YPG/PKK terrorists in northern Syria, Turkey's Defense Ministry said on Nov. 13.

The terrorists were targeted by Turkish commandos when they tried to infiltrate the Operation Peace Spring area, the ministry said on Twitter.

Turkish authorities use the term "neutralize" to imply the terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or captured.

"De facto terrorist statelets" would have emerged across Turkey's southern borders with Iraq and Syria had Ankara not conducted its anti-terror operations in recent years, the spokesman for AKP said on Oct. 28.

A Turkish soldier was killed in a terror attack in northern Iraq when an improvised explosive device planted by terrorists went off, Turkey's National Defense Ministry said on Oct. 28.

The attack occurred in the Operation Pençe-Yıldırım zone on Thursday and killed Turkish soldier Harun Çalışkan, the ministry said in a statement.

The Turkish parliament on Oct. 26 passed a motion that extends authorization for the government's troop deployment in Iraq and Syria for another two years.

The motion underlined that the developments in the regions adjacent to Turkey's southern land borders and the risks and threats posed by the ongoing environment of conflict increasingly continue. 

A Turkish soldier was killed in northern Iraq when a bomb planted by terrorists went off, Turkey's National Defense Ministry said on Oct. 25. 

The ministry said in a statement that another soldier was wounded in the Operation Pençe-Yıldırım area due to the blast from the improvised explosive device (IED).

Two terrorists were neutralized in southeastern Turkey, the country's interior minister said early on Oct. 24.

The terrorists "infiltrating" the border of Çukurca district of southeastern Hakkari province were "captured dead" in a land operation backed by an armed UAV of gendarmerie forces and close air support, Minister Süleyman Soylu said on Twitter.