Turkey says it captures Kurdish militant base in north Iraq

Turkish troops have captured a major base belonging to Kurdish militants in northern Iraq, Turkey’s Defense Ministry said on Monday.

Twelve members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, were “neutralized” in the operation, the ministry said in a tweet. It uses the term to describe opponents that are killed, wounded or captured.

The operation took place close to the Turkish border in a region where three Turkish soldiers were killed in August.

The ministry said the “eastern headquarters” of the PKK were captured in what it called a “powerful blow” against the group, which is listed as a terrorist organization by the U.S. and EU. There were no details when the operation happened.

Turkey launched its latest air and ground campaign in northern Iraq in April in a bid to limit the PKK’s ability to mount cross-border attacks in Turkey. Tens of thousands of people have been killed since the PKK began its armed campaign in 1984.