The Turkish General Staff said on Saturday that the terrorists were killed in the provinces of Hakkari, Sirnak, Diyarbakir, Mardin, and Bitlis. Turkish authorities often use the word "neutralized" in their statements to imply that the terrorist in question was either killed or captured. During the operations, three improvised explosives, 30 infantry rifles, five weapons, and 150 kilograms of ammonium nitrate were seized.
The PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and the EU – resumed its decades-old armed campaign in July last year. Since then, more than 300 civilians and nearly 850 security personnel have been martyred. Around 9,000 PKK terrorists have been killed or apprehended.
The statement added that a total of 225 residential areas and 1,860 square kilometers (718 square miles) between Jarabulus and Azaz in northwest Syria were taken under control as part of Operation Euphrates Shield.