Turkish security forces "neutralized" more than 900 terrorists belonging to various groups last year, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya reported Tuesday.
Turkish authorities use the term "neutralize" to imply that the terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or captured.
Turkish police, gendarmerie and coast guard forces eliminated a total of 923 terrorists in some 23,593 operations, including 3,911 in urban and 19,682 in rural areas, against groups like Daesh, the PKK, Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) and leftist organizations between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2023, Yerlikaya said.
Authorities also detained 7,716 suspects in these operations, 1,555 of whom were arrested and 1,683 were released under judicial control.
In some 6,775 operations against FETÖ, 1,689 suspects were arrested, while 1,500 operations against Daesh saw 738 arrested.
In 358 operations targeting leftist terrorist groups, 11 terrorists were eliminated, 737 suspects were detained and 97 were arrested.
Of the terrorists killed, 64 were so-called high-ranking members, including eight wanted in the red category.
Turkish security forces also prevented a total of 163 terrorist acts, including 124 bomb attacks, Yerlikaya noted.
Following a lull from 2017 onward, Türkiye suffered two bomb attacks in recent years, one that killed six and injured 81 others in Istanbul's Istiklal Street in November 2022 and another in front of the Turkish police headquarters in the capital Ankara, which only injured two officers, in October 2023.
In late December and early January, Türkiye also lost 21 soldiers to two separate PKK attacks on its bases in northern Iraq, where it has been conducting cross-border operations to prevent the formation of a terror corridor.
Türkiye has since intensified its crackdown on the PKK to eliminate its presence within its borders.
Although its activities are significantly reduced within Turkish territories, the PKK finds shelter in mountainous areas where members hide out in winter and store munitions and survival kits.
In air-backed raids in eastern provinces of Bingöl, Siirt, Şırnak, Diyarbakır and Tunceli, Hatay in the south and Giresun in the north, security forces have seized an abundant cache of weapons and munitions from rocket launchers, sniper rifles, pistols, anti-personnel landmines, night goggles, plastic explosives and material used in the production of explosive devices, along with health kits.
Separately on Tuesday, Diyarbakır governorate said the gendarmerie caught three PKK-affiliated suspects, including so-called ringleaders of the terrorist group's urban cell, YPS.
Terrorists from Daesh and other groups, including the PKK's Syrian wing, the YPG, rely on a network of members and supporters in Türkiye. Police conduct pinpoint operations and freeze assets to eliminate the terrorist groups at their roots.
In the first 11 months of 2023, Turkish security forces also arrested some 163 suspects wanted for allegedly helping fund terrorists and seized over TL 28 million ($920,000) raised for terrorist groups, Yerlikaya previously revealed.
Authorities have been developing strategies to counter illegal betting and virtual gambling platforms, which also provide significant funds to terrorists. Meanwhile, the Cybercrime Department audited 1,000,043 accounts and found 19,948 linked to terrorism. Some 190 suspects were detained in ensuing operations.
