Turkey neutralizes 18 YPG/PKK terrorists in N Syria

The Turkish army "neutralized" 18 YPG/PKK terrorists attempting to infiltrate northern Syrian territories, the National Defense Ministry said on March 9.

"Our heroic commandos neutralized 18 PKK/YPG terrorists trying to infiltrate the southern area of the [Operation] Peace Spring region," said the ministry on Twitter.

Turkish authorities generally use the word "neutralized" to imply the terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or captured.

Separately, the ministry also said that Turkish security forces "neutralized" five so-called senior PKK terrorists in northern Iraq.

In a Twitter post, the ministry announced that five terrorists "in the so-called executive position" in the Qandil region were neutralized in an air-backed operation.

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

It has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.

The YPG is the PKK's Syrian offshoot.