Türkiye to not allow terror corridor along its southern border, defense minister says

By Muhammed Enes Calli

ISTANBUL (AA) - Türkiye will not allow a terror corridor along its south border, Turkish National Defense Minister Yasar Guler said on Tuesday.

"Regardless of who provides support, under any pretext or for any reason, we will not allow the establishment of a terrorist corridor along our southern borders," Guler said in his briefing to Türkiye's parliament on terrorist attacks and counter-terrorism operations.

Following the killing of nine Turkish soldiers on Friday in a terror attack in northern Iraq, security forces stepped up its crackdown on the terrorist PKK, and its Syrian offshoot YPG.

PKK terrorists often hide out in northern Iraq to plot cross-border attacks in Türkiye.

Türkiye launched Operation Claw-Lock in April 2022 to target the PKK terror organization's hideouts in Iraq's northern Metina, Zap, and Avasin-Basyan regions near the Turkish border.

In the areas where Operation Claw-Lock operations continue, Guler said if it weren't for the Turkish military presence, the terrorist organization's attacks on Türkiye's borders would continue as before, and greater costs would be paid in the cities.

"Today, not a single piece of news about a martyr is coming from within the country's borders, and there is not a single attack on our base areas.

"This demonstrates the success of our strategy to eliminate terrorism at its source," he said.

Türkiye's military reaching the Zap region, which is the "heart" of terrorists, has caused the terror group to show its "last resistance" in the Operation Claw-Lock zone, he added.

In the Operation Claw-Lock zone, there have been 3,151 harassment and infiltration attempts by PKK terrorists on Türkiye's base areas, Guler stressed.

In response to these attacks, as many as 1,689 terrorists were neutralized in northern Iraq, he added.

Turkish authorities use the term "neutralize" to imply the terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or captured.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US, and EU – has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.