Turkey kills 13 suspected PKK members in Syria

Without providing further details on the joint operation with the National Intelligence Service, the Turkish Ministry of Defense announced on Monday morning that five members of the PKK/YGL had been “neutralized” in northern Syria. Hours later, the ministry portfolio added eight more suspected terrorists to the number of those “neutralized” by the country’s Army.

The ministry said, “Terrorists’ harassment shots will not go unpunished. Eight PKK/YPPG terrorists who opened fire to disrupt the peace and security of the Peace Spring region in northern Syria were neutralized by our forces. Turkish Armed Forces.” through his account on the social network Twitter.

Turkey uses the term “neutralized” suspects who have deadcaptured or surrendered to the authorities. It seems that Ankara considers them dead because the bombing took place.

The Turkish Army has intensified its operations against the PKK in both Syria and northern Iraq since the ceasefire between the Government and the armed group broke down in July 2015. The so-called Dolmabahçe agreements will advance in the peace talks and after the historic entrance of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) to the Turkish Parliament. Turkey considers the YPG — the Syrian-Kurdish militia People’s Protection Units (YPG) — the Syrian branch of the armed group PKK, with a presence in Turkey. The YPG is the backbone of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which plays a key role in the fight against the Islamic State in Syria.