Turkish security forces have eliminated 12 members of the PKK terrorist group's Syrian wing, the YPG, in northern Syria and another so-called high-ranking member in northern Iraq, authorities said Friday.
The terrorists were “neutralized” by the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) as they were preparing for an attack in Syrian regions where operations Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch were conducted, the Defense Ministry said.
Turkish authorities use the term “neutralize” to imply the terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or captured. PKK/YPG terrorists hide near the Turkish border in northern Syria, where they plan or stage attacks on locals and nearby settlements in Türkiye.
Meanwhile, the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) eliminated Halid Reşo Kasım, code-named "Dindar Avesta," in an operation in Sinjar, security sources said.
Kasım was the so-called security chief of the Iraqi district. He joined the group in 2014, serving in the training and recruitment divisions. He ordered the death of countless civilians in Sinjar, sources said.
Türkiye has neutralized over 1,200 PKK/YPG terrorists since the beginning of this year, including those hiding out across the border in Iraq and northern Syria, the National Defense Ministry said Thursday.
Since January, 317 incidents and attacks have been carried out by the PKK/YPG terrorist group in areas of Türkiye's counterterrorism operations, and 926 terrorists have been "neutralized" with the immediate response of Turkish soldiers, according to a ministry official.
Since 2016, Ankara has launched a trio of successful anti-terror operations across its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and enable the peaceful settlement of residents: Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018) and Peace Spring (2019).
In its over 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the U.S. and the EU – has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.
On Thursday, two PKK terrorists surrendered to Turkish forces after persuasion efforts, in eastern Türkiye, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said, while some 39 other suspects with links to the PKK and other terrorist groups were detained in nationwide operations.
Helin Özgören, code-named "Rosida," and Özer Yıldırım, code-named "Hogir Armanç," who partook in terrorist activity in Iraq, turned themselves into gendarmerie forces in eastern provinces, Yerlikaya said.
The PKK, battered and demoralized by Turkish security forces' successful operations, has been in recent years losing members and failing to attract recruits, according to Turkish officials.
Officials said its numbers in Türkiye have been reduced to hundreds, unlike the period between the 1980s and early 2000s. Still, the terrorist group maintains a sizable presence in northern Iraq's rugged terrain, as well as in northern Syria, close to the Turkish border, where its Syrian branch exploits the instability stemming from the ongoing Syrian civil war.
Authorities say less than 200 PKK terrorists remain in Turkish territories, while others are confined to Iraq and Syria. The southeastern region of Türkiye, plagued with terrorism for decades, regained a sense of normalcy, which is evident in flourishing tourism and other activities in the mountains once used as hideouts by terrorists.
Yerlikaya announced last month that some 45 members of the terrorist group whose families staged protests have turned themselves in since September 2019.
Security operations in other Turkish provinces targeted members of Daesh, the Marxist-Leninist Communist Party (MLKP) and the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ).
In the northwestern Tekirdağ province, Turkish police caught 17 people suspected of financing Daesh.
In Balıkesir, the police detained five Daesh suspects in an operation at dawn, including one who oversaw the group’s police forces in Iraq and others who were trained in armed and bomb attacks. One suspect was revealed to have fled the country.
Another man who claimed to be a member of the PKK/YPG was detained in southern Kilis.
In Istanbul, the counterterrorism department and the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office conducted a joint investigation and detected 18 suspects connected to the MLKP.
In simultaneous operations at 13 different locations, 12 suspects were apprehended while authorities continued searching for the other six suspects.
Although it tries to portray itself as a separate group, the MLKP often aligns with the PKK. The PKK has conducted a bloody campaign of terrorism across Türkiye for decades, killing thousands of people, particularly in the southeast.
The MLKP, which was founded in 1994, is on Türkiye's list of "primary terrorist organizations." During Türkiye's operations in Syria's north to wipe out the PPK/YPG’s presence, several MLKP members joined the PKK/YPG in terrorist attacks targeting Turkish security.
Also in Istanbul, police caught four FETÖ fugitives in simultaneous raids at nine addresses across the city.
FETÖ carried out the deadly 2016 coup attempt in Türkiye and some of its members remain at large both at home and overseas.
