Turkish delegation to explain Ankara's anti-terror efforts to EU states

A Turkish parliamentary delegation will explain Turkey's counterterrorism efforts and how the country has been affected by terrorist activities to European Union member states at a forum in Brussels.

The delegation, consisted of three deputies, will travel to Brussels to attend the Global Counterterrorism Forum in a bid to better explain Ankara's measures against terrorism where representatives of EU member states will be present. Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), Deputy Chairperson of the Parliamentary Human Rights Investigations Committee, Fatma Benli, said that Turkey ranks high among world countries that fall victim to terrorism.

Along with the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Deputy Cemalettin Güvenç and Republican People's Party (CHP) Deputy Şenal Sarıhan, Benli, also an AK Party deputy, will make a presentation about the issue. Stressing that Turkey is a country that is located at the center of the routes of terrorist groups, Benli said that it is therefore a target country.

Since 2015, more than 300 people have lost their lives in Daesh-claimed attacks in Turkey, where the terror organization has targeted civilians and security forces in suicide bombings, and rocket and gun attacks.

The country's efforts against Daesh made it a primary target for the terrorist group. Ankara has deported more than 5,000 Daesh suspects and 3,290 foreign terrorists from 95 countries in recent years, and has dismantled several terrorist cells that provided logistical assistance in Syria and Iraq, and plotted attacks inside the country.

"Turkey, on the one hand, is trying to maintain the security of its own citizens while on the other hand it is in connection with international actors through these workshops," Benli said. The deputy chairperson of the Parliamentary Human Rights Investigations Committee said that the burden Turkey carries cannot be left on the shoulders of a single country. She underlined that intelligence sharing and cooperation at all times is crucial in fighting terrorism.

Turkey, indeed, has been carrying out intense operations both at home and abroad. Alone between January and November of last year, both inside and outside Turkey, 1,609 PKK militants were killed.

Furthermore, the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) concluded Operation Euphrates Shield against the Daesh terrorist group in the first half of 2017 and kicked off Operation Olive Branch in January 2018 against the PKK terrorist organization's Syrian affiliate, the People's Protection Units (YPG).

Apart from on-the-ground counterterrorism efforts, the Turkish government also cracks down on the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ). Declaring a state of emergency following the July 15, 2016 coup attempt, orchestrated by FETÖ, that killed 250 and wounded more than 2,000, Turkey has dismissed 110,778, and the number of reinstated people is 3,604, leading to a net total of 107,174 being dismissed.