Nearly 4,200 terrorists neutralized in Afrin: Erdogan

ISTANBUL, TURKEY - APRIL 15: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks at the 6th ordinary congress of his Justice and Development (AK) Party in Istanbul, Turkey on April 15, 2016. Erdogan said 4,163 terrorists have been neutralized so far as part of the Operation Olive Branch in Syria’s Afrin region. Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch on Jan. 20 to clear YPG/PKK and Daesh terrorist groups from Afrin in northwestern Syria amid growing threats from the region. On March 18, Turkish-backed troops liberated Afrin town center, which had been a major hideout for the YPG/PKK since 2012. Also, 337 PKK terrorists were neutralized in northern Iraq and 190 others inside Turkey have also been neutralized, the president added. Turkish authorities often use the word "neutralized" in their statements to imply that the terrorists in question either surrendered or were killed or captured. In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU -- has been responsible for the death of some 40,000 people. The PYD/YPG are Syrian branches of the terrorist PKK and the focus of Turkey's successful counter-terrorist Operation Olive Branch in Afrin, Syria, near the border with Turkey. (Footage by Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)