UPDATE - Türkiye reaffirms fight against terrorism until last terrorist 'neutralized' following high-level security meeting

UPDATES WITH STATEMENT FOLLOWING SECURITY MEETING

By Gozde Bayar and Seda Sevencan

ANKARA / ISTANBUL (AA) — Following a security meeting of top officials, Türkiye on Saturday reaffirmed its resolve in fighting terrorism after nine Turkish soldiers were killed in an attack in northern Iraq.

"This struggle will continue until the last terrorist is neutralized and the terrorist swamps in Iraq and Syria are completely drained," the country's Communications Directorate said in a statement on the outcome of the meeting, held in Istanbul under the chairmanship of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

During the meeting, Türkiye’s counter-terrorism strategies were evaluated and steps to be taken after the “treacherous” attack on Friday by PKK terrorists in Türkiye's Operation Claw-Lock zone in northern Iraq were discussed, said the statement.

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. It was preceded by Operations Claw-Tiger and Claw-Eagle launched in 2020 to root out terrorists hiding out in northern Iraq and plotting cross-border attacks in Türkiye.

The statement underlined that Türkiye "continues to fight against the PKK/YPG/KCK terrorist organization and its supporters with persistence and determination" under a strategy to prevent and destroy threats to the country's survival at their source.

Türkiye will not, under any circumstances, allow the establishment of a terrorist state along its southern borders, it said, adding:

"Within the framework of our right to self-defense and bilateral agreements, wherever there is a terrorist threat, camp, shelter, formation or cluster, it is our main priority to destroy it permanently, regardless of who is behind it."

As a result of Türkiye's anti-terror operations launched after Friday's attack, a total of 45 terrorists have been "neutralized," including 36 in northern Iraq and nine in northern Syria, the statement noted..

The security meeting of top Turkish officials came to an end at the Dolmabahce Presidential Office in Istanbul.

Besides Erdogan, the meeting included Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya, National Defense Minister Yasar Guler, Chief of General Staff Metin Gurak, National Intelligence Organization (MIT) chief Ibrahim Kalin, Communications Director Fahrettin Altun and chief presidential adviser Akif Cagatay Kilic.

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 the EU — has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.