Turkey arrests 146 Daesh terrorists in series of operations


Turkey has arrested 146 Daesh terrorists in a massive series of 44 operations conducted in 25 cities, Interior Ministry announced late Tuesday.

245 PKK terrorists have also been arrested in 63 other anti-terror operations, the Ministry added in a statement.

The arrests came amid the country's ongoing anti-terror operation against Northern Syrian territories occupied by PKK's Syrian wing, People's Protection Units (YPG).

Turkey launched Operation Peace Spring, the third in a series of cross-border anti-terror operations in northern Syria targeting terrorists affiliated with Daesh and the PKK's Syrian offshoot the YPG, on Oct. 9 at 4 p.m.

The operation, conducted in line with the country's right to self-defense borne out of international law and U.N. Security Council resolutions, aims to establish a terror-free safe zone for Syrians return in the area east of the Euphrates River controlled by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which is dominated by YPG terrorists.

The PKK — listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union — has waged a terror campaign against Turkey for more than 30 years, resulting in the deaths of nearly 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.