Turkey intercepts 13 terrorist suspects attempting to cross borders

Turkish border units intercepted 13 people on the country's borders, some of whom were trying to illegally pass from Turkey to Greece while others were attempting to get from Syria to Turkey, the Defense Ministry said Wednesday.

"Seven of the held individuals were identified as members of the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), one as a member of the PKK and one as a member of the Daesh terrorist organization," said the statement.

In its more than 40-year campaign against Turkey, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU – has been responsible for the deaths of at least 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.

Since 2016, Turkey has launched a trio of successful counterterrorism operations across its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and to enable the peaceful settlement of residents, titled: Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018) and Peace Spring (2019).

FETÖ and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gülen orchestrated the quelled coup of July 15, 2016, which left 251 people dead and 2,734 injured.

FETÖ is accused of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.

In 2013, Turkey became one of the first countries to declare Daesh a terrorist group.

The country has since been attacked by the terror group multiple times, with over 300 people killed and hundreds more injured in at least 10 suicide bombings, seven bomb attacks and four armed assaults.

In response, Turkey launched counterterrorism operations at home and abroad to prevent further attacks.