Turkish security forces killed nine members of the PKK terrorist organization's Syrian offshoot, the YPG, attempting to infiltrate the Operation Euphrates Shield zone in northern Syria, the National Defense Ministry said Tuesday.

The terrorists were neutralized during a night operation while trying to infiltrate the Operation Euphrates Shield zone, the ministry said on Twitter.

Ankara considers the YPG, which was backed by the U.S.-led anti-Daesh coalition on the pretext of fighting the Daesh terrorist group on the ground, a grave national security threat.

Since 2016, Turkey has launched a trio of successful counterterrorism operations across its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and enable the peaceful settlement of residents: Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018) and Peace Spring (2019).

Districts in northern Syria under Turkish-backed opposition groups' control are regularly targeted by the YPG, which seized control of large swathes of land in the northern parts of the war-torn country with the Assad regime's blessing when clashes intensified in 2012.

In its more than 40-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.