By Muhammed Ali Toruntay

ANKARA

Turkish airstrikes on Tuesday neutralized eight PKK terrorists in anti-terror operations in both Turkey and northern Iraq, the military said.

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

In a message posted on its official Twitter account, the General Staff said that Turkish fighter jets had carried out operations in northern Iraq’s Zap and Avasin-Basyan regions, and on a rural area in southeastern Siirt province, where they neutralized eight PKK terrorists.

Airstrikes on PKK targets in northern Iraq have been carried out regularly since July 2015, when the PKK resumed its decades-long armed campaign.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the 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.