Turkey dealt heavy blow to terrorists in northern Syria

SANLIURFA, Turkey

At least 711 terrorists were neutralized and 71 terror attack attempts were prevented over the past year in Syria’s Tal Abyad and Rasulayn districts cleared of terrorism with Turkey’s cross-border operation, a Turkish authority said on Tuesday.

The Governor’s Office in the southeastern Sanliurfa province recalled in a statement that Operation Peace Spring was launched on Oct. 9, 2019, against the YPG/PKK and Daesh/ISIS terror groups in northern Syria to eliminate a terror corridor to be established in the southern border of Turkey, to bring peace and tranquility to the region, and it was concluded successfully.

The statement said a local security force was established in the region through consultations provided by Turkish security forces and added: “The activities of the Turkish Armed Forces and SNA [Syrian National Army] to prevent the infiltration of terrorists to the operation area continue without any pause.”

It said a total of 349 YPG/PKK terrorists and 126 Daesh/ISIS terrorists were caught alive, while one YPG/PKK terrorist was caught dead in Tal Abyad in the last year.

In Rasulayn, 221 YPG/PKK terrorists and 11 Daesh/ISIS terrorists were caught alive, while three YPG/PKK members were caught dead.

Some 19 ditches, 60 positions, 10 shelters, and 21 tunnels, including a 2-kilometer (1.2-mile) long reinforced concrete tunnel, in Tal Abyad, and 27-km (16.7-mi) long 303 tunnels in Rasulayn were destroyed.

“In the operations, 71 YPG/PKK terror attack attempts targeting local security units and innocent civilians in the region have been prevented so far,” it added.

Large amounts of ammunition and explosives were also seized in the operations.

Since 2016, Turkey has launched a trio of successful anti-terror operations across its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and enable the peaceful settlement of residents: Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018), and Peace Spring (2019).

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US, and the EU – has been responsible for the deaths of nearly 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants. The YPG is the PKK’s Syrian offshoot.

*Writing by Sena Guler