The Ministry of National Defense announced on Thursday that the number of members of the PKK terrorist group eliminated by Turkish security forces since Jan. 1 had reached 1,151.
The ministry’s press and public relations adviser Brig. Adm. Zeki Aktürk told a weekly press briefing that they eliminated 59 terrorists within the past week. He said 521 terrorists were eliminated in Iraq and 630 others in Syria’s north since Jan. 1.
Aktürk said the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) continued its fight against the terrorist groups, based on a defense and security strategy involving eliminating threats at its source.
He said another terrorist surrendered to border authorities after fleeing PKK camps in northern Iraq this week.
Türkiye has carried out several cross-border operations, accompanying Syrian opposition forces in recent years, to wipe out the presence of the terrorist groups Daesh and the PKK's Syrian branch YPG in Syria’s north.
Ankara often complains about the United States military support to the PKK/YPG under the guise of fighting against Daesh in Syria. “We are the only NATO ally fighting Daesh and managed to defeat them. We are well aware of the plot in motion by means of utilizing this terrorist group. We are aware of this regional plot. We don’t care about what anyone has to say when it comes to the territorial integrity of our country and safety of our nation,” President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said last month.
“We will not bow down to any threat. We believe that the terrorist group and its sponsors will eventually see that they cannot impose a fait accompli on us,” he said.
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 has, over the past 25 years, operated several dozen military bases in northern Iraq in its war against the PKK and has been conducting airstrikes as part of “Claw” operations since 2022 to demolish terrorist lairs and prevent the formation of a terrorist corridor along its borders.
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 and Baghdad labeled the group a banned organization in March.
