PKK terrorist training camp, bunker exposed in Operation Olive Branch

The training camp of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) terrorists at Mount Bafilun, which was captured as part of Turkey’s Operation Olive Branch in Syria’s Afrin on Mar. 4, was uncovered. The terrorists used the region, where they built tunnels, concrete pavilions, trenches and shelter areas within the training camp on the main hill parallel to the Bursaya and Darmik mountains across Turkey’s Kilis, to protect themselves from warplanes and shelling.

Turkish soldiers identified an underground bunker located at a distance of 100 meters from the terror camp, which was destroyed by warplanes and cannons within the scope of Operation Olive Branch, and a number of rooms dug 10-meters deep in the forest area on the west slope of the hill. Commandos searching the bunker found living provisions as well as tools used in construction.

The bunker, which spans across 400 meters with its extensions, had electricity and was a place of hiding for terrorists during airstrikes and shelling. The YPG/PKK terrorists formed long trenches at Mount Bafilun, and used the training camp for an extended period. Security sources claim that the advance of troops will speed up with the capture of the region.

The Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) and Free Syrian Army (FSA) are rapidly advancing their operations to clear Jindaris, a district in southwestern Afrin, of PKK/PYD terrorists. Drone footage showed the city had been evacuated by the PYD/PKK terrorist group.

Local sources reported that the PYD/PKK terrorist organization had transferred the civilians in Jinderes to Afrin’s city center to use them as human shields. The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the terrorist organization had planted mines around Jindaris and set up traps in the town center using handmade explosives.

The PYD/PKK could show resistance in the town center with the remaining terrorists, whose exact number is unknown, and with the mines and traps, the sources added.

The TAF and FSA have besieged the town as part of Operation Olive Branch, launched on Jan. 20 to clear the Afrin region from PKK/PYD and Daesh terrorist organizations.

On Jan. 20, Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch to clear YPG/PKK-Daesh terrorists from Afrin.

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.

Afrin has been a major hideout for the PYD/PKK since July 2012, when the Assad regime in Syria left the city to the terror group without putting up a fight.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union and the United States. The PKK has been conducting armed violence in the southeastern part of Turkey since 1984. More than 40,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the three-decade long conflict.