ANKARA

Three PKK terrorists were neutralized by Turkish intelligence forces in northern Iraq last month, security sources said on Saturday.

Huseyin Inal, a senior member of the terror group codenamed Karker Kurecik, was neutralized along with two more terrorists in an operation by Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization in Iraq’s Metina region on Feb. 22, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

The terrorists were neutralized after information was received that they were gathering for a meeting to plan attacks in Turkey, according to the sources.

Turkish intelligence also found out that Inal was trained at a PKK training camp in Laurium, southeastern Greece, before joining the terror group’s ranks in northern Iraq in 2018, the sources added.

Turkish authorities use the word “neutralized” in statements to imply the terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or captured.

PKK terrorists often hide out in northern Iraq, across Turkey’s border, to plan attacks in Turkey.

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 at least 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.

*Writing by Jeyhun Aliyev