ANKARA

Turkish security forces “neutralized” three PKK terrorists in northern Iraq, the National Defense Ministry said on Thursday.

The PKK terrorists, identified through reconnaissance and surveillance in northern Iraq’s Avasin-Basyan region, were neutralized by an air operation, the ministry said in a statement.

Anti-terror operations against the terrorist group PKK continue resolutely, the statement added.

Turkish authorities use the term "neutralized" to imply the terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or captured.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US, and EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.