Turkey to continue chasing terrorists abroad: Erdogan

By Efsun Yilmaz and Halil Sahin

DENIZLI, Turkey (AA) - President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that Turkey will continue chasing Fetullah Terrorist Organisation (FETO) terrorists who have escaped abroad and bring them back.

Speaking at the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party's congress in the southwestern province of Denizli, Erdogan said: "Some 80 FETO terrorists have been brought to Turkey. We will chase them no matter where they escape to."

Referring to the 2016 coup attempt, he said the Turkish people resisted air attacks by fighter jets and bullets, adding that FETO targeted the country's independence and democracy.

"As you know we nabbed six senior members of FETO. We caught them in Kosovo and brought them here."

Turkish intelligence officers in March brought the terrorists back to Turkey in a special plane, in cooperation with Kosovo intelligence.

Once in Turkey, the alleged FETO members were handed over to the judiciary.

FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 250 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured. He added that similar treatment will be meted out to PKK terrorists.

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.

The PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU -- waged a terror campaign against Turkey for more than 30 years and has been responsible for the death of nearly 40,000 people, including those of women and children.

More than 1,200 people, including security force personnel and civilians, have lost their lives since the PKK resumed its decades-old acts of terror in July 2015.