Turkish army neutralizes 43 terrorists over past week

A total of 43 terrorists including a so-called senior figure were neutralized as part of anti-terror operations on Turkish soil and in northern Iraq over the past week, the military said on Friday.

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

In a weekly statement, Turkish General Staff said the counter-terrorism raids were carried out in eastern Sirnak, Mardin, Erzurum and Bingol provinces as well as in northern Iraq regions from July 13-19.

Some 39 infantry rifles, 1 machine gun, an RPG rocket launcher, 6 guns and an AT-4 missile, 26.3 kilograms (58 pounds) of explosives and 3 improvised explosives were destroyed.

During the operations, one soldiers was martyred and two others were injured, the statement said.

The PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU -- resumed its armed campaign against Turkey in July 2015.

Since then, it has been responsible for the deaths of more than 1,200 Turkish security personnel and civilians, including many women and children.

Separately, the military said since the launch of Turkey's Operation Olive Branch in Syria’s Afrin region, a total of 4,545 terrorists have been neutralized.

On Jan. 20 Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch to remove YPG/PKK and Daesh terrorists from Afrin. On March 18, Turkish troops and the Free Syrian Army liberated the Afrin district center.

According to the Turkish General Staff, the operation aims to establish security and stability along Turkey’s borders and the region as well as to protect Syrians from terrorist oppression and cruelty.

The statement also said Turkish and the U.S. army had conducted 16 separate coordinated patrols in the area between the Operation Euphrates Shield region and Manbij since June 18, when the first patrols by Turkish and U.S. troops in the region began.