Turkish security forces eliminated 15 terrorists from the PKK terrorist group's Syrian branch YPG in northern Syria, the Defense Ministry announced Monday.
"Our heroic commandos carried out another successful operation in the Peace Spring, Olive Branch and Euphrates Shield regions. Fifteen PKK/YPG terrorists, including two so-called senior executives, who attempted to attack to disrupt the peace and security environment, were neutralized," the ministry said in a statement.
Also, an attempt by the terrorist organization YPG, which continues to exist in Tal Rifaat district, to infiltrate the front lines of the Syrian National Army (SNA) in Mare district in northern Syria was prevented on Monday.
YPG terrorists, who have been occupying the Tal Rifat district, which is 18 kilometers away from the Turkish border, for more than six years, attempted to infiltrate the Mare district, which is under the control of military opposition, in the northern countryside of Aleppo province in the morning.
SNA members clashed with terrorists who attempted to attack from the direction of Sheikh Isa and Harbul villages to the east of Tal Rifaat. Military opponents using heavy weapons repelled the infiltration attempt.
According to information obtained from local security sources, YPG terrorists who suffered losses in the conflict had to withdraw.
YPG terrorists captured Tal Rifaat and some of its surrounding settlements in February 2016 with the air support of Russia.
The terrorist organization displaced approximately 250,000 civilians from Tal Rifaat and its surrounding areas, and the displaced population sought refuge in areas close to the Turkish border.
From there, the YPG is attacking the Turkish security forces and the positions of the opposition fighters, who provide security with the settlements in the Operation Euphrates Shield and Operation Olive Branch region.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan recently warned that Turkey plans to launch a new operation in northern Syria against the PKK terrorist group's Syrian branch, the YPG, which threatens Turkey's national security and border security.
Erdoğan has said that since the United States and Russia have failed to live up to their commitments to provide a safe zone along the border region, Turkey is ready to mount an operation to protect the nation and locals in northern Syria from the PKK/YPG.
In October 2019, Russia committed to removing the terrorist group from Tal Rifaat and Manbij after reaching an agreement with Turkey during Operation Peace Spring. Moscow also promised that the terrorists would be pulled back 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the border on the M4 highway and in the area outside the Operation Peace Spring zone.
The operation is part of Turkey's plans to create a safe zone along its border with Syria that would encourage the voluntary return of Syrian refugees.
The YPG controls large parts of northern Syria and is regarded by Washington as an important ally against Daesh despite its NATO ally Turkey's major security concerns and warnings.
The PKK is a designated terrorist organization in the U.S., Turkey and the European Union, and Washington's support for its Syrian affiliate has been a major strain on bilateral relations with Ankara. The U.S. primarily partnered with the YPG in northeastern Syria in its fight against the Daesh terrorist group. On the other hand, Turkey strongly opposed the YPG's presence in northern Syria. Ankara has long objected to the U.S.' support for the YPG, a group that poses a threat to Turkey and that terrorizes local people, destroying their homes and forcing them to flee.
Under the pretext of fighting Daesh, the U.S. has provided military training and given truckloads of military support to the YPG, despite its NATO ally's security concerns. Underlining that one cannot support one terrorist group to defeat another, Turkey conducted its own counterterrorism operations, over the course of which it has managed to remove a significant number of terrorists from the region.
Speaking to members of the Turkish press on his way back from Iran where he attended a trilateral meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and Iran's Ebrahim Raisi in the capital Tehran for the seventh summit in the Astana format to discuss the recent developments in Syria, Erdoğan last week reiterated Turkey’s concerns over the United States' continued support of the PKK's Syrian branch YPG in the region.
"The United States has carried thousands of trucks of weapons, ammunition and equipment to terrorist organizations there, including during the previous presidents. This is still going on. Even the coalition forces continue their support in the same way."
Regarding a new possible cross-border operation against the YPG, Erdoğan said that a new operation will continue to be on Turkey's agenda as long as its national security concerns are not resolved.
The Astana process agreed on the decision that the United States must withdraw from the east of Euphrates, Erdoğan said and added: "The United States has to leave the area east of the Euphrates at once. This is the finding that came out of the Astana process. They say that the U.S. should withdraw its troops from the east of the Euphrates. Now, a result that will emerge from here is also the expectation of Turkey. Because it is the U.S. that feeds the terrorist organizations there. Since the U.S. is feeding terrorist organizations, and we are also fighting with these terrorist organizations, our job will be easier when it withdraws from there or if it does not feed these terrorist organizations."
Turkish-backed operations in previous years have ousted the YPG and Daesh terrorists from the northwestern enclave of Afrin and a series of border towns further east. Since 2016, Ankara 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).
