Turkish security forces have arrested 18 people who were trying to illegally cross the country's borders, including eight suspected members of the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), PKK and Daesh, the National Defense Ministry announced on Sunday.
Turkish border forces caught the suspects as some attempted to enter the country from Syria and others tried to leave Turkey for Greece, the ministry stated on Twitter.
Three of the 18 people apprehended were identified as members of FETÖ, a terrorist group that Ankara accuses of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.
FETÖ, masterminded by its United States-based leader Fethullah Gülen, orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016 in Turkey, in which 251 people were killed and 2,734 injured.
Three others at the border were found to be operatives of the PKK terrorist group, which has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children and infants, during its over 40-year terror campaign against Turkey.
The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union.
Two more people caught by Turkish forces were identified as members of the Daesh terrorist group.
Turkey was one of the first countries to declare Daesh a terrorist group. The country has since been attacked by the group multiple times, with 315 people killed and hundreds more injured in at least 10 suicide bombings, seven bomb attacks and four armed attacks.
In response, Turkey launched counterterrorism operations at home and abroad to prevent further attacks.
