ANKARA, July 29 (Xinhua) -- Turkish security forces detained at least three members of the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in northern Syria, the defense ministry said Wednesday.
The YPG fighters were "aiming to disrupt peace and security in Operation Olive Branch zone" and they were caught "before they could achieve their treacherous ambitions," the ministry said on Twitter.
Seeing the YPG as the Syrian branch of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), Turkey launched Operation Euphrates Shield in 2016, Operation Olive Branch in 2018, Operation Peace Spring in 2019, and Operation Spring Shield in 2020 in northern Syria to create a YPG-free zone along its border within the neighboring country.
Meanwhile, the Turkish security forces have launched a new anti-terror operation in its eastern Tunceli city, Turkey's interior ministry announced Wednesday.
The Operation Lightning-4 was launched with 1,006 security personnel, including gendarmerie commandos, gendarmerie special operations, and police special forces as well as security guards, said the ministry in a written statement.
The Turkish security forces regularly conduct anti-terror operations in the eastern and southeastern parts of Turkey, and the operations were intensified after July 2018.
The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the EU, has been rebelling against the Turkish government for more than 30 years, which has claimed the lives of more than 40,000 people. Enditem
