Turkish Forces ‘Neutralize’ 12 YPG Members in Northwestern Syria

Twelve members of the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) were killed or captured by Turkish security forces in northwestern Syria, the Turkish Defense Ministry said on Sunday. The ministry’s statement disclosed that the YPG members were “neutralized” following their initiation of “harassing fire” on the Turkish military’s Operation Euphrates Shield zone.

Turkey commonly uses the term “neutralized” in its official announcements to indicate that the targeted “terrorists” were either killed, captured, or forced to surrender.

The country views the YPG as the Syrian extension of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

In 2016, Turkey launched Operation Euphrates Shield in northern Syria, seeking to establish a YPG-free zone along its border in the neighboring nation. The PKK, recognized as a terrorist group by Turkey, the US, and the European Union, has been in conflict with the Turkish government for over three decades.