TEHRAN, May 06 (MNA) – Turkish security forces neutralized a total of four YPG/PKK elements in northern Iraq and Syria, near the Turkish border, the National Defense Ministry said on Sunday.

Three of the terrorists were “neutralized” in the Operation Claw Lock region in northern Iraq and another in the Operation Euphrates Shield zone in northern Syria, said a ministry statement, Anadolu Agency reported.

Under the pretext of fighting PKK terrorists, Turkey has deployed its troops in areas of northern Iraq and Syria and is conducting aerial attacks on parts of the northern areas of these countries.

Ankara has received widespread criticism from both Iraqi and Kurdish authorities in Baghdad and Erbil as well as the international community for violating Iraqi sovereignty under the pretext of fighting the PKK.

MP/PR