ANKARA, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Turkish airstrikes have "neutralized" 12 members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in a cross-border operation in northern Iraq, the Turkish Defense Ministry said Wednesday.
In a statement, the ministry said the PKK militants had been "neutralized" in the Gara and Hakurk regions of northern Iraq.
Turkish authorities often use the term "neutralize" in their statements to imply the alleged "terrorists" have either surrendered, been killed, or been captured.
Turkish forces often carry out cross-border operations in northern Iraq against the PKK militants, especially in the Qandil Mountains, the main base of the group.
A total of 376 PKK members have been killed in northern Iraq so far this year, said the Turkish Defense Ministry in early May.
In a change of policy, the Iraq National Security Council banned the PKK in mid-March.
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. ■
