Türkiye will lead a determined fight against terrorists from all groups, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan vowed Saturday amid Ankara’s ongoing offensive against U.S.-backed PKK/YPG forces in northern Syria and terrorists at home.
Türkiye will make sure terrorist groups are held accountable "for every drop of blood they shed," Erdoğan told his ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) congress in the capital Ankara.
He cited the PKK, its Syrian offshoot YPG, Daesh and the Gülenist Terrorist Group (FETÖ) that orchestrated a defeated coup in 2016.
A Turkish campaign conducted mainly by air has been targeting U.S.-backed PKK/YPG posts since Thursday, in response to an attack in the capital Ankara claimed by the PKK.
Ankara lists the YPG as a terrorist organization and says it is indistinguishable from the PKK, which has led a bloody terrorist campaign against the Turkish state since 1984 in which over 40,000 people have been killed.
The United States, Britain and the European Union deem the PKK, but not the YPG, as terrorists. Ankara demands their withdrawal from the borderline and often mounts offensives to eliminate terrorist elements to ensure border security based on self-defense rights arising from Article 51 of the U.N. Charter.
The United States further contends that the YPG remains a close ally in the fight against Daesh extremists in Syria.
Washington regularly sends arms and ammunition to YPG terrorists in the region and even conducts patrols and joint drills. The issue has strained ties with Ankara, which has repeatedly warned forces of third countries to stay away from facilities controlled by the PKK and YPG.
Türkiye will not "bow to those who try to corner us by using terrorist organizations," Erdoğan asserted on Saturday, without mentioning any country.
This comes a day after Türkiye confirmed the loss of an armed drone during its Syrian aerial campaign, hours after the U.S. said it shot down the craft. The two countries are NATO allies.
Both sides shared messages advocating de-escalation.
Türkiye, along with the U.S. and Russia, has a military presence in Syria's north and controls a swathe of land following several operations there since 2016.
Meanwhile, the Turkish Defense Ministry on Saturday reported militant losses in clashes near Turkish military bases in Syria's north.
Turkish security forces eliminated at least 58 YPG/PKK terrorists in northern Syria, the ministry said.
Terror targets in the Euphrates Shield, Olive Branch and Peace Spring regions were strongly hit by Turkish fire support vehicles on Friday night in accordance with the principle of self-defense, the ministry said on X.
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).
Also on Sunday, the Turkish Interior Ministry said a total of 2,554 terrorist fugitives were captured as part of the nationwide Operation Heroes, which was launched in the wake of two PKK attacks in Ankara last week.
Some 12 suspects had been wanted for over a decade, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on X.
“Ninety-one of these had been fugitives for 5-10 years while 2,451 had been wanted for up to 5 years,” he informed. “We are determined to apprehend and deliver to justice fugitive criminals,” Yerlikaya added.
