Turkey’s successful counterterrorism operations have reduced the number of PKK militants to less than 160, according to Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu.
Soylu stated during the Turkish Parliament’s General Assembly that 2,080 terrorists have surrendered to Turkish security personnel in the last five years.
Turkey is fighting terrorism both inside and outside the country, according to Soylu.
According to the Interior Ministry, at least 182 PKK militants have agreed to lay down their arms as a result of persuasion efforts this year.
Offenders affiliated to terrorist organisations who surrender in Turkey may be eligible for sentence reductions under a repentance law.
According to Turkish officials, the terrorist PKK has been losing members and struggling to attract new ones in recent years, after being bruised and demoralised by Turkish security forces’ successful operations.
The PKK, which is classified as a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States, and the European Union, has killed at least 40,000 people, including women, children, and babies, in its more than 40-year terror campaign against Turkey.
Turkey has carried out counterterrorism operations Olive Branch, Euphrates Shield, and Peace Spring, as well as the Claw-Tiger operations, according to Soylu, and has “scratched out the eyes” of those who “intended to divide the country.”
Since 2016, Turkey has carried out three successful operations across its border in northern Syria to prevent the establishment of a terror corridor and allow inhabitants to return to their homes in peace: Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018), and Peace Spring (2019). (2019).
The Claw operations are a series of offensives launched by Turkey in northern Iraq against terrorist organisations, primarily the PKK, since 2019.
Soylu also emphasised that Turkey has conducted domestic offensives against terrorists, including operations Kiran, Kapan, Yldrm, and Eren, which “did not allow the terrorists to breathe.”
“Not only did we fight terror, but we also fought terrorism,” he continued.
In Iraq’s Metina and Avasin-Basyan regions, operations Claw-Tiger and Claw-Eagle began in June of last year, while Claw-Lightning and Pence-Thunderbolt began in April of this year. Turkey launched Operation Eren this year, named after Eren Bülbül, a 15-year-old who was murdered by the PKK terrorist organisation on August 11, 2017.
The current operation aims to eliminate PKK terrorists who have taken up residence in the area.
