Sweden says will continue to fight against PKK terrorist organization

By Atila Altuntas

STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AA) – Sweden will continue to fight against the PKK terrorist organization, which is responsible for the killing of over 40,000 people, mostly civilians, in its terror campaign against Türkiye in the last 40 years, said the head of the country’s intelligence service.

In a remark to Anadolu, head of the Swedish Security Service (SAPO), Charlotte von Essen underlined the importance of cooperation between the states against terrorist organizations.

Remarking that Sweden has taken tougher measures to deal with terrorism threats and has been maintaining good cooperation with Türkiye in this domain, she noted PKK will remain a terrorist organization in the annual evaluation report.

“As such, we are taking steps to limit the activities of PKK, which uses Sweden as a base. We want to prevent operations of PKK and organizations affiliated with it in Sweden,” Essen said.

She added that Russia, China, and Iran are the major countries posing a threat to the country’s security.

On Feb.13, Sweden’s National Centre for Terrorist Threat Assessment (NCT) revealed in its annual report that PKK actively operates in the country and wider Europe.

Its activities included extortion, political lobbying, and recruitment of operatives to be used in the terror campaign against Türkiye, the report noted.