13,138 operations carried out against terrorist organizations in June
Security forces are seen in an operation against Daesh in Adana province, Türkiye, July 4, 2023 (AA Photo)


Turkish security forces carried out 13,138 operations against terrorist organizations last month, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on Tuesday.

Yerlikaya wrote on social media that Türkiye’s fight against terrorism is continuing while 65 terrorists have been eliminated within the scope of June’s counterterrorism operations in urban and rural areas.

Moreover, 418 have been caught, 112 of which were arrested.

As a result of the operations, 16 terrorist acts were prevented, 38 bunkers and shelters were rendered unusable, 51 weapons – 39 of which were heavy and long-barreled, 70 hand grenades, 24 mines/IEDs, a total of 313 kilograms (690.05 pounds) of explosives, and 3 kilograms of plastic explosives of various diameters were eliminated while 6,937 ammunition of differing sizes were seized.

For over 40 years, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union – has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.

Meanwhile, security forces on the same day captured a PKK/PYD terrorist near the Syrian border, a security source said.

The terrorist was caught infiltrating Türkiye from Syria through the border district of Ceylanpınar in the southeastern Şanlıurfa province, said the source on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.