Turkey ‘neutralizes’ 95 terrorists in September

ANKARA

Turkish security forces “neutralized” a total of 95 terrorists in September, the country’s deputy interior minister said on Tuesday.

Ismail Catakli's remarks came at a monthly briefing in which he informed the media about the ongoing anti-terror operations.

Catakli said that Turkey’s fight against terrorism would continue until the last terrorist was eliminated and that the country always needs to be vigilant against the terror threat.

From April 15 to Oct. 1, during the anti-terror operations, a total of 10,850 operations were conducted by security forces and more than 125 terrorists were neutralized, he said, adding over 400 shelters used by terrorists were destroyed and a huge cache of arms and ammunition were seized.

Catakli went on to say that there were now less than 189 terrorists operating within Turkish borders and that this figure had never been that low before.

As for the month of September, a total of 11,716 rural and 1,245 urban-based counter-terrorism operations were carried out across Turkey, according to Catakli, who said 95 terrorists, including five on the Interior Ministry’s wanted list, were “neutralized.”

Turkish authorities use the word "neutralized" in statements to imply that the terrorists in question either surrendered or were killed or captured.

Referring to the neutralized terrorists, he said 26 were killed and 54 were captured alive, one was captured in injured condition and 14 others surrendered to Turkish security forces. Among them are 69 PKK, 24 Daesh/ISIS and two left-wing terror group members.

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

In 2013, Turkey became one of the first countries to declare Daesh/ISIS a terrorist organization.

It has since been attacked by the terror group multiple times, with over 300 people killed and hundreds more injured in at least 10 suicide bombings, seven bomb attacks, and four armed assaults.

In response, Turkey launched anti-terror operations at home and abroad to prevent further attacks.