The PKK terrorist group caused $3 trillion in financial damage to Türkiye, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Deputy Chairman Binali Yıldırım said Thursday.
“PKK caused us $3 trillion in financial damage,” he told a meeting with workers at a textile factory in Istanbul on Thursday, noting that the terrorist group has indirectly caused $400 billion in damages.
Yıldırım said this would only be possible with a favorable atmosphere, security and stability, highlighting that production is key to achieving a more robust economy.
“If a country does not have stability and security, then you cannot produce anything,” he said, adding that Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Libya and Yemen are all unable to produce because they’re either dealing with war, internal strife or occupation.
The PKK is responsible for over 40,000 civilian and security personnel deaths in Türkiye over an almost four-decade campaign of terror. Türkiye has been conducting military operations in northern Iraq since 2019, with ground and air forces to battle the organization.
In the last few years, the operations intensifying in northern Iraq have demolished terrorist lairs in Metina, Avashin-Basyan, Zap and Gara. After eradicating the group’s influence in these regions, Türkiye also aims to clear Qandil, Sinjar and Makhmour. Its military involvement in northern Iraq dates back over two decades, separately from its operations against the PKK, and also included the war against the Daesh terrorist group, which controlled much of the area, in 2014 and 2015, when Ankara was an ally in the U.S.-led anti-Daesh campaign.
In recent years, the Turkish intelligence agency has stepped up its operations abroad to stamp out terrorist activities in Iraq and Syria, Türkiye’s two southeastern neighbors.
