Turkish authorities announced on Thursday that two members of the PKK terrorist group have surrendered to security forces in Türkiye’s southeast, while seven other suspects belonging to both the PKK and the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) were detained on its borders.
The two terrorists, who fled PKK hideouts in northern Iraq, surrendered at the Habur Border Gate, the National Defense Ministry said in a statement, bringing the number of terrorists who surrendered since the beginning of 2023 to 18.
One more terrorist belonging to the YPG, the PKK’s Syrian wing, was also arrested while trying to illegally cross from Syria into Türkiye, the ministry said via a separate statement.
In another such attempt, security forces arrested a PKK/YPG terrorist in Şanlıurfa's Suruç district.
Meanwhile, five suspected members of terrorist groups were nabbed in Edirne province while trying to illegally cross into Greece from Türkiye, according to security sources.
The suspects included four members of FETÖ and one from the PKK, sources added on condition of anonymity.
The PKK has been responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands since the 1980s in its campaign of violence. Persistent counterterrorism operations reduced the number of its members hiding in Türkiye to below 120. Still, the terrorist group has more members hiding in mountainous territories of northern Iraq and Syria’s northeast near the Turkish border.
Figures by the Interior Ministry suggest that a total of 8,410 suspects aiding and abetting the PKK were detained last year, while 125 members of the terrorist group were convinced by authorities to surrender in 2022. In 2014, over 5,500 people joined the terrorist group, while it dropped below 1,000 in 2016. Last year, only 57 people joined the group.
FETÖ and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gülen orchestrated the defeated 2016 coup in Türkiye, which killed 252 people and injured 2,734 others.
