"We continue our struggle with all our strength for our martyrs, for our nation! Our heroic Turkish Armed Forces neutralized 15 PKK terrorists in northern Iraq and four PKK/YPG terrorists in northern Syria," the ministry said on social media X.

The People's Protection Units (YPG) are the Kurdish militia in Syria that is allied to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, an Islamist, was in Iraq on Monday, where he urged both the central government in Baghdad and the autonomous Kurdish administration in Erbil to act together against the PKK's presence in Iraq.

"Both in Iraq and in Syria, the swamp of terror will be drained not only with our own efforts but also with the joint efforts of the administrations of both countries," Erdogan told Turkish reporters on his flight back from Baghdad.

"The ideal thing would be for our neighbors to take the necessary steps against the threats emanating from their territories and for us to continue this struggle together," the Turkish president added.

The PKK took up arms in 1984 to demand autonomy for Turkey's roughly 12 million Kurds and more than 45,000 people have been killed in the ensuing conflict between the rebels and Turkish security forces.

The PKK is based in northern Iraq, in the autonomous Kurdish region run by the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). Ankara has good relations with the KDP but criticizes the PUK for its support for the PKK rebels.

For weeks, Erdogan has been signaling an intensification of Turkish military operations in northern Iraq over the summer months, with the aim of rooting out PKK positions.

In Baghdad on Monday, Erdogan, speaking at a joint press conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, urged the Iraqi authorities to expel the PKK "as soon as possible" from their territory.

In March, Iraq banned the PKK's activities in the country, with Erdogan on Monday saying that Turkey was ready to support Baghdad's efforts.

Al-Sudani stressed that "Iraq will not allow its territory to be used to attack its neighbors" and underlined that the country's constitution was being respected.

"The security of Iraq and Turkey is indivisible. Bilateral security and cooperation are important for the region," he said.

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