Turkey says it ‘neutralized’ 18,500 militants over 6 years

ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey says it has “neutralized” nearly 18,500 people whom it calls “terrorists” over the past six years. Defense MInistry spokesperson Maj. Pinar Kara told journalists in Ankara on Sunday that included 1,865 people this year. The ministry uses the term “neutralized” to describe killed, wounded or captured combatants. The vast majority of the 18,455 people that Turkey says it has “neutralized” since July 2015 are thought to be members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which has waged war on Turkey since 1984. A 2½-year ceasefire with the PKK broke down in 2015. It is listed as a terrorist organization by the U.S. and the European Union.