Türkiye will close the gaps in its 30-kilometer (18.64-mile) deep security line, taking new steps to completely eliminate terrorist threats coming from Syria, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Monday.
"We will enter a new phase of struggle that will destroy the entire infrastructure and resources of the terrorist group (PKK and YPG/PKK), which it receives strength from, as well as its armed capacity," Erdoğan said following a Cabinet meeting at the Presidential Complex in Ankara.
Noting that Türkiye increased the number of its counterterrorism operations to 124, Erdoğan said nearly 9,800 terrorist hideouts were destroyed over the past year.
The president stressed that the recently launched Claw operations have secured Türkiye's "border in northern Iraq, which the terrorist group has been using for years to infiltrate our lands."
"In order to protect our land borders, we have put in place all means of technology, manpower, as well as physical barriers," he said, adding that at least 5.4 million square meters (58.13 million square feet) of land along Türkiye's border regions have been regained for the country's economy after clearing them from mines.
The PKK and its Syrian branch, the YPG, have used terrorist bases across Türkiye's border in northern Iraq and northern Syria to plot and carry out attacks on Türkiye. Along the Syrian border, the group has worked to create a terrorist corridor along the border, threatening both Syrian locals and nearby Turkish residents.
Recently, Türkiye launched Operation Claw-Sword, a cross-border aerial campaign against the PKK terrorist group and its Syrian wing, the YPG, which have illegal hideouts across the Iraqi and Syrian borders where they plan attacks on Turkish soil.
The country’s air operation followed a PKK/YPG terrorist attack on Nov. 13 on Istanbul’s crowded Istiklal Street that killed six people and left 81 injured.
After the air operation was launched, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also signaled a ground operation to northern Iraq and northern Syria to eliminate the terrorist threat, adding, "This is not limited to just an air operation."
The president specified northern Syria’s PKK/YPG-controlled Tal Rifaat, Manbij and Ain al-Arab (also known as Kobani) regions as possible targets to clear of terrorists.
Tal Rifaat lies 15 kilometers (9 miles) south of the border with Türkiye. The PKK/YPG controls the city and surrounding villages, and Russian troops are present in the area. The Syrian National Army (SNA) controls areas surrounding Tal Rifaat from the north, while Russian-backed Syrian troops control zones mostly to the south.
Meanwhile, one Turkish soldier was killed in a terrorist attack in northern Iraq, near the Turkish border, authorities said on Monday.
Hüseyin Korkmaz was killed when terrorists opened harassing fire in the Operation Claw-Lock zone, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.
Türkiye launched Operation Claw-Lock in April to target the PKK terrorist organization's hideouts in Iraq's northern Metina, Zap and Avasin-Basyan regions near the Turkish border.
It was preceded by Operations Claw-Tiger and Claw-Eagle, launched in 2020 to root out terrorists hiding out in northern Iraq and plotting cross-border attacks in Türkiye.