ISTANBUL

Türkiye will prevent a "terrorist structure" from emerging along its southern borders, the country's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reaffirmed on Saturday.

"Whatever the cost, Türkiye will not allow the presence of a terrorist organization in northern Iraq or northern Syria," Erdogan said at an event in the metropolis Istanbul.

His remarks came after six Turkish soldiers were killed and one was wounded in an attack by terrorists near the northern Iraqi border on Friday.

PKK terrorists often hide out across the border in northern Iraq to plot terror attacks in Türkiye.

Expressing his condolences for the death of the slain soldiers, Erdogan announced that since the attack, 12 terrorists had been "neutralized" in a Turkish operation zone in northern Iraq, as well as in northern Syria.

"Within the Operation Claw zone and in northern Syria, a total of 12 terrorists have been neutralized so far," Erdogan said.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK — listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US, and EU — has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.