ANKARA, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Turkish forces have "neutralized" 12 members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in a cross-border operation in northern Iraq, the Turkish Defense Ministry said Monday.

Twelve PKK terrorists were neutralized in an air operation in the Hakhurk region of northern Iraq, the ministry said in a statement, without specifying the time of the operation. "Our operations will continue until the last terrorist is neutralized," it added.

The ministry shared a video footage on the social media platform X showing a fighter jet taking off from an airbase and radar images of the moment it hit the targets.

Turkish authorities often use the term "neutralize" in their statements to imply the alleged "terrorists" have either surrendered, been killed, or been captured.

The Turkish forces often carry out cross-border operations in northern Iraq against the PKK militants, especially in the Qandil Mountains, the main base of the group.

Between April 1 and 14, Turkish police detained 222 suspected members of the PKK in Türkiye's eastern province of Van, the state-run TRT broadcaster reported Monday.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States and the European Union, has rebelled against the Turkish government for more than three decades. Enditem

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