July 02, 2018•Update: July 02, 2018
ANKARA
At least 36 PKK terrorists have been "neutralized" during anti-terror operations across Turkey in the past one week, the Interior Ministry said in a statement on Monday.
Turkish authorities often use the word "neutralized" in their statements to imply the terrorists in question either surrendered or were killed or captured.
In its statement, the ministry said Turkish Armed Forces carried out 1,363 counter-terror operations between June 25 and July 2 with the assistance of land and air forces.
The ministry said out of the total, 21 terrorists were killed, four others were captured and 11 surrendered to authorities.
During the operations, 170 people were arrested for allegedly aiding and abetting the PKK terror group and 33 others for suspected links to the Daesh terrorist group.
Also, another 777 people were arrested for suspected links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO).
Security forces destroyed shelters, including caves and 11 improvised explosives, during operations in the southeastern provinces of Sirnak and Mardin, the statement said.
During the operations, security forces also arrested 985 suspects for crimes related to terrorism, and 2,805 others for organized migrant and drug trafficking crimes, while 66 people were held for undocumented migration.
Listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and the EU, the PKK has been responsible for the death of some 40,000 people since the mid-1980s, including women and children.
Reporting by Sertac Bulur:Writing by Faruk Zorlu
