UPDATES WITH MORE TERRORISTS NEUTRALIZED; REVISES HEADLINE, LEDE; EDITS THROUGHOUT
By Orhan Onur Gemici and Serhat Usul
ANKARA (AA) – At least six terrorists were neutralized Wednesday in Turkey’s southeast as part of the nation’s domestic fight against terrorists, the Interior Ministry said.
In Sirnak, the gendarmerie carried out airstrikes to neutralize three terrorists in the rural Idil area, the ministry said on Twitter.
Later the ministry said another counter-terrorism operation of gendarmerie neutralized three terrorists in Lice, Diyarbakir.
Security operations are still underway in the region.
Turkish authorities often use the term "neutralized" in statements to imply the terrorists in question either surrendered or were killed or captured.
Though the statement did not mention any specific terrorist group, Turkish forces have been conducting operations against the PKK terrorist organization in the region for over a long time.
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 40,000 people, including women, children and infants. The terrorist YPG is the PKK's Syrian branch.
*Writing by Burak Bir and Busra Nur Bilgic Cakmak
