Over 70 PKK/Daesh terrorists 'neutralized' by Turkey

By Burcu Calik

ANKARA

Over 70 PKK and Daesh terrorists have been killed in airstrikes carried out by Turkish jets across eastern and southeastern Turkey and northern Syria over the past week, the military announced Saturday.

The Turkish General Staff said in a statement that 41 PKK terrorists had been "neutralized" across the eastern provinces of Mus, Bitlis and Elazig as well as the southeastern province of Hakkari between Dec. 1-7.

Turkish authorities often use the word "neutralized" in their statements to imply that the terrorists in question were either killed or captured.

At least 50 shelters were also destroyed during the operations, the statement said.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU. It resumed its decades-old armed campaign in July last year against the Turkish state.

More than 300 civilians and nearly 800 security personnel have since been martyred. Around 8,000 PKK terrorists have been killed or apprehended.

Operation Euphrates Shield

The army said a total of 32 Daesh terrorists were “neutralized” in northern Syria during Operation Euphrates Shield between Dec. 1-7.

Forces said the air operations saw Turkish jets destroy three armed vehicles used by Daesh terrorists as well as shelters and a headquarters.

Operation Euphrates Shield began in late August to rid Syria's northern border area of terrorists.

Over 215 residential areas, including more than 1,800 square kilometers (694 square miles) of land in northern Syria have been cleared of Daesh terrorists as part of the operation so far.

Syria has remained locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.

Since then, more than 250,000 people have been killed and more than 10 million displaced, according to UN figures.