ERBIL — Turkey's National Defense Ministry on Friday claimed that at least 13 fighters of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) were “neutralized” in the border areas of the Kurdistan Region.

The operation targeted the terrorists in the Claw-Lock zone and Hakurk region, state media Anadolu Agency cited a statement by the ministry, without providing further details in this regard.

The term "neutralized" is used by Turkish authorities to indicate that the individuals were either killed or arrested.

Turkey initiated Operation Claw-Lock in April 2022 to target PKK positions in the Metina, Zap, and Avasin-Basyan regions of the Kurdistan Region, close to the Turkish border.

This operation follows previous initiatives, including Claw-Tiger and Claw-Eagle in 2020, against the PKK which is in a decades-long military conflict with the Turkish army.

On Wednesday, the Turkish defense ministry claimed that its forces had "neutralized" three PKK fighters in the Kurdistan Region. The day before, the ministry had indicated that a minimum of 10 PKK members were "neutralized" in various locations across Kurdistan.