Turkish military seizes arms, ammunition in Afrin

By Yilmaz Kazandioglu and Ali Kemal Akan

ANKARA

Turkish armed forces on Friday seized arms and ammunition in Syria’s northwestern Afrin region, which was recently liberated during the Operation Olive Branch.

In a message posted on its official Twitter account, Turkish General Staff said a large amount of ammunition, a machine gun, 4 Kalashnikov assault rifles, a bazooka, 12 hand grenades, and a radio were recovered in Afrin’s Dervisoglu region.

Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch on Jan. 20 to clear YPG/PKK and Daesh terrorist groups from Afrin, northwestern Syria amid growing threats from the region.

On March 18, Turkish-backed troops liberated the Afrin town center, which had been a major hideout for the YPG/PKK terrorists since 2012.

According to the Turkish General Staff, the operation aims to establish security and stability along Turkey’s borders and the region as well as to protect Syrians from the oppression and cruelty of terrorists.

Separately, security forces launched an operation against PKK/KCK terrorist organization in southeastern Hakkari's Ordekli village, according to a statement by local governor's office.

During the operations, a M-16 infantry rifle, a AK-47 automatic rifle, four hand grenades, a vehicular radio and a good deal of ammunition were seized.