3 Turkish soldiers killed in terrorist attack in SE Turkiye

ANKARA

Three Turkish soldiers were killed when a bomb planted by terrorists went off near the country's border with Syria, the National Defense Ministry said on Saturday.

The ministry said in a statement that the soldiers were "martyred in the southeastern Sanliurfa province's border district of Akcakale due to a blast from an improvised explosive device (IED)."

12 terrorists neutralized

Some 12 PKK/YPG terrorists were later neutralized by Turkish forces in the Akcakale area where the Turkish soldiers were killed, the ministry said on Twitter.

Operations in the region against terror elements are ongoing, it added.

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

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Turkiye, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkiye, 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.