ISTANBUL: Turkish soldiers have “neutralized” 16 “terrorists” of the Kurdish militia the People’s Defence Units (YPG) in northern Syria, according to the Defence Ministry in Ankara.

This was in response to attacks, the ministry announced on Twitter on Sunday. Kurdish sources told dpa that the Turkish claims were baseless.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan most recently threatened on Saturday a fresh offensive in northern Syria. Turkey justifies this with alleged attacks. Erdogan said at the weekend that he no longer wanted to be “disturbed” in a zone extending 30 kilometres into Syria.

Past Turkish offensives were also mainly directed against the YPG, which Ankara classifies as an offshoot of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and also as a terrorist organization.

The Kurdish militia is an ally of the US in Syria. Ankara already occupies areas near the border in northern Syria.

Two PKK terrorists were also killed in northern Iraq, another tweet from the ministry said on Sunday.

Ankara regularly carries out military offensives there against the PKK, which is also considered a terrorist organization in the US and Europe.