The Turkish Defense Ministry announced the killing of /2049/ militants from the /banned/ Kurdistan Workers' Party in the military operations carried out by the Turkish army against the party's militants in northern Iraq and Syria during the current year. The Spokesman for the Turkish Defense Ministry /Zaki Akturk/ said in a media briefing today, Thursday: The operations of the Turkish army in northern Iraq and Syria during the current year, which focused on strikes carried out by Turkish fighter jets, resulted in the killing of /2049/ saboteurs affiliated with the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party. Akturk stated that Turkish fighter jets had launched a series of airstrikes on PKK sites in northern Iraq and Syria over the past seven days, killing 36 militants. He stressed that the operations carried out by the Turkish army outside the borders, specifically in northern Iraq and Syria, were primarily aimed at securing its borders and that the goal was not to violate the sovereignty of either country. He pointe d out that the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has a stronghold in the Qandil Mountains in northern Iraq, and is active in many cities, regions and valleys, launching attacks on the Turkish interior from there, and that the Turkish army is working hard to dry up the sources of terrorism. Source: National Iraqi News Agency