Turkish forces neutralize 30 PKK/PYD terrorists in Syria’s Afrin

Thirty terrorists from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)’s Syrian offshoot, the PYD, were neutralized after Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) units stationed near the border gates with Syria struck their positions in Afrin and its countryside late on Tuesday night.

The Free Syrian Army (FSA), who will make up the land force during the operation, have completed preparations as over 20,000 fighters await orders to enter Afrin.

Residential quarters in the city of Azaz in the Euphrates Shield region were targeted by PKK/PYD mortar fire late on Tuesday night, however, the attack did not result in any loss of life or injuries.

Turkish artillery units stationed in Hatay’s Hassa and Kırıkhan districts retaliated by striking PKK/PYD targets in Afrin that were previously identified via drones and radars.

Among the Afrin regions that were struck by the Turkish army were Basufan, Jindere, Mamelan, Meskenli and Rajo, where terrorist sanctuaries and supply depots are located.

Turkish fighter jets simultaneously struck PKK/PYD position in Afrin’s rural regions, directly striking 25 positions, two of which contained heavy weapons arsenals that belonged to the terrorists.

According to intercepted communications between PKK/PYD terrorists, the shots fired by Turkish howitzer artillery resulted in two big explosions that killed a large number of terrorists.

Terrorists were ordered via walkie-talkie not to communicate unnecessarily and to remain in their positions despite the heavy losses.

Turkish Intelligence units’ local sources on the ground in Syria were able to intercept a wireless communication between two PKK/PYD terrorists. One of the two, codenamed “Hamzah Aghiri,” pleads over his walkie-talkie for help, saying “Mihemed, it’s like the apocalypse here. Most are dead. There’s no one to move the injured. We need urgent help,” to which the second terrorist replies, “No one can go there right now. We just got hit. There are losses everywhere. Stop talking and go help the wounded.”

Two separate PKK suicide attacks were carried out in the northern city of Jarabulus, which killed two civilians, in an attempt to poison the atmosphere of peace that reigns in the Euphrates Shield regions prior to the Afrin operation.

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.