Some 649 militants have been “neutralized” since the beginning of Turkey’s Operation Olive Branch in Syria’s northwestern district of Afrin, the Turkish Armed Forces announced on Jan. 30, Hurriyet Daily News reports.
“Some 649 targets of the PKK [outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party], KCK [Kurdistan Communities Union], PYD/YPG [Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party/People’s Protection Units], and ISIL [the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant] terror organizations have been destroyed,” the army said in its statement.
The military said it was taking the utmost care during the operation to not harm any civilians. “The only ones being targeted are terrorists, and any shelters, pits, weapons, vehicles, and equipment that belong to them,” it said.
On Jan. 20, the Turkish Armed Forces, together with the Free Syrian Army, launched the Operation Olive Branch in Afrin, Syria.