Turkish security forces have eliminated 18 terrorists in northern Syria and Iraq in the past three days, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said Wednesday.
Speaking at an iftar dinner in Kayseri province, Akar underlined Türkiye’s struggle against terrorism and said that the fight against terror continues resolutely.
Akar also highlighted that members have been increasingly fleeing the terrorist organization.
“Let alone the terrorists themselves, the organization is dying,” he added.
A significant number of suspected terrorists have begun to flee the PKK and surrender, but many terrorists lack the courage to leave the group out of fear of being severely reprimanded if caught.
Akar continued to say that the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) were doing everything to protect the country’s borders and its people.
“Whoever is backing them and providing them with weapons, ammunition and helicopters, our struggle against them will not end until the last terrorist is eliminated,” the minister said.
Akar pointed out that 37,756 terrorists had been eliminated since 2015.
Since 2016, Ankara launched a trio of successful counterterrorism operations across its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and enable the peaceful settlement of residents: Euphrates Shield in 2016, Olive Branch in 2018 and Peace Spring in 2019.
Similarly, counterterrorism operations are carried out in northern Iraq.
The PKK terrorist group often hides out in northern Iraq, just across Türkiye's southern border, to plot terrorist attacks in the country.
Türkiye has long been stressing that it will not tolerate terrorist threats posed against its national security and has called on Iraqi officials to take the necessary steps to eliminate the terrorist group. Ankara previously noted that if the expected steps were not taken, it would not shy away from targeting terrorist threats.
In its more than 40-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States and the European Union, has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.