Offensive against Kurdish militias: Turkey “neutralises” 491 opponents Legal dispute over classified documents: Trump admits defeat again

According to its own statements, the Turkish army has so far “neutralized” nearly 500 enemy fighters in its offensive against Kurdish militias in Syria and Iraq.

The Turkish government uses the term to indicate that people have been killed, injured or captured. Defense Minister Hulusi Akar described the operation as a “great success”. “491 terrorists were neutralized,” he said in western Turkey’s Canakkale province on Friday.

For nearly two weeks, Turkey has been carrying out airstrikes in northern Iraq and northern Syria against the Syrian-Kurdish militia YPG and the outlawed Kurdish Workers’ Party PKK. Turkey fights them as terrorist organizations. In addition, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened a ground offensive in northern Syria.

Ankara blames both groups for an attack on Istanbul’s Istiklal shopping street in mid-November. Six people died and more than 80 were injured. However, the YPG and PKK had denied this. Since 2016, Turkey has carried out four military offensives in northern Syria.

The United States sees the YPG as a partner in the fight against the Islamic State (IS) terror militia in Syria, whose cells are still active in the country. Akar urged NATO allies, including the United States, to “stop supporting terrorists”. Akar again threatened to launch a ground offensive “at the right time and place”. (sda/dpa)