Turkish Defense announces neutralization of over 3,000 PKK fighters in 2024

Shafaq News/ The Turkish Ministry of Defense announced, on Thursday, that the Turkish military neutralized 3,070 members of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in operations carried out against its positions in Turkiye, northern Iraq, and Syria throughout 2024.

Turkiye uses the term neutralize to indicate that a PKK member has been killed, injured, or captured.

According to Anadolu Agency, Navy Colonel Zeki Akturk, the ministry's media advisor, revealed in a press conference held in Ankara that 1,491 PKK fighters were neutralized in Iraq, and 1,579 in Syria,

The Ministry of Defense also reported "the neutralization of 49 terrorists" in Turkiye, northern Iraq, and Syria over the past week.

The final months of 2024 saw a significant escalation in Turkish airstrikes targeting PKK positions in the Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq, particularly in Duhok Province.

Last July, the Iraqi National Security Council designated the PKK as a banned organization, months after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Iraq.