'Turkey sees light at end of tunnel in terrorism fight'

By Emin Avundukluoglu

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey is now seeing the light at the end of the tunnel in its fight against terrorism, the country's interior minister said on Thursday.

"A total of 892 terrorists were neutralized this year in Turkey," Suleyman Soylu told Turkish legislators at the parliament's planning and budget committee in the capital Ankara.

Soylu said the ministry had carried out 102,000 internal security operations since 2016.

Turkey neutralized 102 top terrorists, with 10 of them on the most wanted list, he said.

"Turkey, today, for the first time, has seen the light at the end of the tunnel in the fight against terrorism," he underlined.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US, and the EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of nearly 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.

Soylu said the ministry has also dismissed 42,000 personnel since the 2016 coup attempt by Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO).

He added: "14,000 personal have been suspended [from the ministry] and 13,000 others have been reinstated [since the 2016 coup attempt]."

FETO orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

Ankara also accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.