Turkiye "neutralized" five PKK members in Iraqi Kurdistan

Shafaq News/ The Turkish forces "neutralized" PKK members, including a senior leader in an operation in Iraqi Kurdistan.

The Anadolu News Agency said a joint operation by National Intelligence Organization and the Turkish Armed Force "neutralized" five PKK members, including leader "Norshin Efrin." In Gara of northern Iraq, Kurdistan.

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

The Turkish military has regularly attacked Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in the mountains of northern Iraq, where several thousand militants are believed to be holed up.

Ankara launched actions called "Operation Claw (Claw-Tiger and Claw-Eagle in 2020, and Claw-Lock in 2022" to "prevent terror attacks" and "ensure the safety of the Turkish people and frontiers."

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that "the Turkish operations against terrorists abroad (in Iraq), based on its belief that saving its security starts from outside its borders," and "to cleanse the Zab area completely."

The PKK took up arms against the Turkish state in 1984. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict, which in the past was mainly focused on southeast Turkey.

PKK is designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States, and the European Union.