Turkey says it 'neutralized' seven YPG members after killing of two soldiers in northwest Syria

The funerals of the soldiers were held yesterday. (Photo: AA)

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At least seven members of the People' Protection Units (YPG) were killed in Turkey's retaliatory strikes on the group in northwestern Syria, the Ministry of National Defense announced yesterday (July 25).

"The terrorists who martyred our two heroic comrades in the Euphrates Shield area have been retaliated, the terrorist positions have been destroyed as a result of the effective strikes, and, according to initial findings, it has been determined that at least seven terrorists have been neutralized," the ministry said in a statement.

A day before, two soldiers lost their lives and two were injured in an anti-tank guided missile attack on an armored personnel carrier.

After the attack, "terror targets" in the region were immediately determined and stuck, the ministry said in a previous statement, adding that they were "hit effectively."

The vehicle carrying the troops was in transit to a base in the area, according to a separate statement by the ministry, which said the injured were "immediately" rushed to the hospital.

Having launched three military operations into northwestern and northern Syria since 2016, Turkey controls two separate areas of nearly 9,000 square kilometers in the region.

Ankara and its allies from Syria captured Afrin, a Kurdish-majority city bordering Turkey, from the YPG in an operation in early 2018. (EMK/VK)