ANKARA

Turkish fighter jets “neutralized” 34 PKK terrorists in northern Iraq since the launch of an operation there, the military said on Tuesday.

In a Twitter post, Turkish General Staff said 18 terrorists were killed from June 1 to June 8.

Turkish authorities often use the word "neutralized" in their statements to imply that the terrorists in question either surrendered or were killed or captured.

Separately, on Tuesday midnight, Turkish jets destroyed 12 targets in northern Iraq, including Mt. Qandil.

Turkey has launched anti-terror operations in both Qandil and Sinjar regions in northern Iraq, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday.

Airstrikes on PKK targets in northern Iraq, where the terror group has its main base in the Mt. Qandil region, near the Iranian border, have been carried out regularly since July 2015, when the terrorist PKK resumed its armed campaign.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey as well as the U.S. and EU. In its terror campaign against Turkey, which has lasted for more than three decades, over 40,000 people have been killed, including women and children.

Reporting by Sinan Uslu and Sarp Ozer:Writing by Can Erozden