ANKARA, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- Turkish security forces "neutralized" 11 members of the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in northern Syria, the country's Defense Ministry said on Monday.
The YPG members were targeted while plotting an attack on Turkish soldiers in the "Operation Olive Branch" and "Operation Euphrates Shield" zones in northern Syria, the ministry said in a statement.
"We continue to respond in kind to terrorist attacks," said the ministry.
Turkish authorities often use the term "neutralize" in their statements to imply the alleged "terrorists" have either surrendered, been killed, or been captured.
The 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 to create a YPG-free zone along the border with 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. ■
