Türkiye has eliminated more than 1,500 terrorists from various organizations since the start of 2024 in intensifying cross-border airstrikes, notably in Iraq and Syria.
Spokesperson Brig. Adm. Zeki Aktürk said at a news conference at the ministry headquarters in Ankara that the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) continued their uninterrupted fight against all threats, including the PKK, Daesh and the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ).
"Our Turkish Armed Forces have eliminated 1,588 terrorists since the beginning of this year, 67 of them in the last week, in northern Iraq and Syria," Aktürk said, adding that 770 of the terrorists were eliminated in Iraq and 818 in northern Syria.
The spokesperson also informed precision strikes destroyed 25 terrorist targets like caves, bunkers and depots in northern Iraq’s Gara, Qandil and Asos regions on July 26.
Another PKK terrorist fleeing the group’s shelters in northern Iraq surrendered to Turkish forces on the border.
Furthermore, security forces discovered six tunnels used by PKK terrorists in northern Iraq where the TSK is conducting Operation Claw-Lock, unearthing dozens of hand grenades, smoke bombs, mines, handmade explosives, anti-aircraft guns, machine gun ammunition and other materials.
Aktürk also highlighted the protection of Türkiye’s borders with multi-lateral technology-intensive systems, noting that in the last week, 310 people, including five terrorists, were caught attempting to cross the border illegally, and 916 others were prevented from crossing.
“Since Jan. 1, the number of people caught trying to cross our borders illegally has been 7,412 and the number of people prevented from making the crossing has been 66,975,” he said.
He also stressed that the Turkish naval forces helped the coast guard rescue a group of irregular migrants pushed back into Turkish territorial waters by Greece in the Aegean Sea on July 24.
Since Turkish operations have driven its domestic presence to near extinction, the PKK has moved a large chunk of its operations to northern Iraq, including a stronghold in the Qandil Mountains, located roughly 40 kilometers (25 miles) southeast of the Turkish border in Irbil.
Türkiye aims to wipe out the PKK from its borders and create a 30-40-kilometer-deep security corridor along the Iraqi and Syrian borders and sever the ties between the group’s leaders in Iraq’s Qandil region and Syria. Türkiye’s escalating counterterrorism operations in northern Iraq in recent weeks have led to speculation that a wider summer offensive against the terrorist group is already underway.
The PKK is not designated a terrorist organization in Iraq but is banned from launching operations against Türkiye from Iraqi territory. It nevertheless has a foothold in northern Iraq's semi-autonomous north controlled by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), where the central Iraqi government has little influence.
Türkiye's cross-border operations into northern Iraq have been a source of tension with its southeastern neighbor for years. Ankara has asked Iraq for more cooperation in combating the PKK. As a result, Baghdad labeled the group a banned organization in March and set up two military bases in the Zakho region in April.
The PKK has stepped up its attacks against Iraqi targets recently. Baghdad announced last month that PKK members were behind a string of arsons in the country, including those concentrated in areas controlled by the KRG.
On Israel’s ongoing war on the Gaza Strip, Aktürk warned: “Israel expanding its attacks to Yemen and Lebanon are raising the risk of instability and spreading the war to our region.”
“We are once again reiterating that Israel must act in line with international law and accept unconditionally a cease-fire deal per U.N. Security Council resolutions,” he said.
