"13 PKK / YPG terrorists who were preparing to attack our troops in the region of the Operation Euphrates Shield from the Tall Rifat region were neutralized in a successful operation," the statement said.

Operation Euphrates Shield was a cross-border military operation conducted by the Turkish Armed Forces and Turkey-aligned Syrian opposition groups in the Syrian Civil War. Operations were carried out in the region between the Euphrates River to the east and the rebel-held area around Azaz to the west.

The Turkish military and Turkey-aligned Syrian rebel groups, some of which used the Free Syrian Army label, fought against the forces of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) as well as against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) from 24 August 2016. On 29 March 2017, the Turkish military officially announced that Operation Euphrates Shield was successfully completed. (ILKHA)