UPDATES WITH ADDITIONAL REMARKS BY TURKISH PRESIDENT
By Gizem Nisa Cebi
ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkish security forces "neutralized" a total of 1,045 terrorists, including seven who were on the country's most-wanted red list, during operations against the PKK terror group over the past year, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday.
"A total of 1,045 terrorists, seven of whom were wanted in the red category, were neutralized in operations against the PKK/KCK last year," Erdogan said in a speech to police graduates in the capital Ankara.
He also noted that Turkish forces had "neutralized a total of 2,525 terrorists in the country's southern neighbors, with 1,473 in Syria and 1,052 in Iraq."
During anti-terror operations, a total of "3,158 caves, shelters, hideouts, and depots" used by terrorists were destroyed, the Turkish president added.
Turkish authorities use the term "neutralize" to imply the terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or captured.
In its nearly 40-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK — listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US, and the EU — has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.
Erdogan also highlighted the country's efforts against organized crime, noting that 603 criminal groups had been dismantled by police and intelligence forces at the local, regional, national, and international levels.
Highlighting Türkiye's progress in dealing with irregular migration and human trafficking over the past year, Erdogan said:
"As a result of operations, 12,500 people have been detained, including 4,500 who were arrested and sent to prison. The number of people deported has reached 149,000."
Erdogan further noted that military operations have prevented approximately 168,000 illegal crossings at the borders and led to the capture of 13,691 irregular migrants.
He also stressed that the Turkish state would continue to pursue members of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), a group whose 2016 coup attempt in Türkiye was roundly defeated.
"Just last year, 5,827 operations were conducted against FETO, resulting in the arrest of 9,350 suspects," Erdogan said, vowing that "the breath of our state's institutions will continue to be on the necks of the treacherous FETO members, no matter where they run."
FETO and its US-based leader Fethullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, in which 252 people were killed and 2,734 wounded in Türkiye.
Gulen has long lived in the US state of Pennsylvania. Since the 2016 coup attempt, Turkish leaders have sought the extradition of Gulen, but US officials have not approved this, saying that what Türkiye submitted falls short of the standard required. The refusal to extradite has long been a thorn in the side of Turkish-US relations.