Turkey 'intensely' prepping for new anti-terror op in Syria, says DefMin

Turkey will bury Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) terrorists in the ditches they had dug in Syria "when the time comes," said Defense Minister Hulusi Akar on Thursday.

He added that "terrorists in Iraq's Sinjarand Mt. Karajak regions were neutralized without harming any civilians or innocents."

An operation east of the Euphrates, which Turkey’s leadership has been suggesting for months, would follow two successful cross-border Turkish operations into Syria since 2016 -- Operations Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch -- both meant to eradicate the presence of YPG/PKK and Daesh terrorists near Turkey’s borders.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of some 40,000 people, including women and children. The YPG is its Syrian branch.