Nine Turkish soldiers killed in 'Operation Olive Branch' in one day: Turkish army

Nine Turkish soldiers were killed and eleven were wounded in “Operation Olive Branch” carried out by the Turkish army in Syria’s northern Afrin province on Feb. 10, Turkish Armed Forces announced in three separate statements on the same day.

Three Turkish soldiers were killed and five soldiers were wounded in Syria’s Afrin district on Feb. 10, an initial military statement said.

A follow-up statement released on the same day said two more Turkish soldiers were killed, and four were wounded in the military operations.

Another statement said four soldiers were killed, and two more were wounded.

In a separate incident, two Turkish Armed Forces personnel were killed when an attack helicopter crashed in Syria’s Afrin during the ongoing Operation Olive Branch on Feb. 10, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said.

Meanwhile, at least 1,141 People’s Protection Units (YPG) militants have been “neutralized” since the beginning of Turkey’s “Operation Olive Branch” in Syria’s Afrin, the Turkish General Staff said also on Feb. 10.

Turkish authorities often use the word “neutralized” in their statements to imply the militants in question either surrendered or were killed or captured.

In a statement, the military said the Turkish Armed Forces had “destroyed” 36 YPG targets and “neutralized” 79 YPG militants in airstrikes that were carried out overnight on Feb. 10.

On Jan. 20, Turkey launched “Operation Olive Branch” to clear YPG militants from Afrin in northwestern Syria.