ANKARA, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Five Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) members were killed by Turkish forces in northern Syria, Türkiye's Defense Ministry said Wednesday.
Turkish forces "neutralized" the YPG members after they opened "harassment fire" targeting Türkiye's "Operation Euphrates Shield" zone in northern Syria, the ministry said in a statement.
Turkish authorities often use the term "neutralized" in their statements to imply the "terrorists" in question surrendered or were killed or captured.
The incident was the second intervention of the Turkish army in the zone against the YPG members in the past three days.
On Monday, the ministry said six members of the YPG group were "neutralized" while preparing for an attack on the military zone of the Turkish military.
Turkish army launched "Operation Euphrates Shield" in 2016, "Operation Olive Branch" in 2018, "Operation Peace Spring" in 2019, and "Operation Spring Shield" in 2020 in northern Syria in order to create a YPG-free zone along its border within the neighboring country.
Türkiye sees the YPG group as the Syrian branch of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States and the European Union, has rebelled against the Turkish government for more than three decades. ■
