More than 18,000 ‘terrorists’ neutralized in less than six years: Turkish minister

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Turkey has “neutralized” more than 18,000 “terrorists” in almost six years, the country’s minister of national defense said on Friday.

Turkish Minister of National Defense Hulusi Akar on Friday told commanding officers they had “neutralized” at least 18,220 terrorists since July 24, 2015, state-owned Anadolu Agency (AA) reported on Saturday.

Akar did not specify which groups the terrorists belonged to.

Turkish officials use the term “neutralize” to imply surrenders, killings or capturing.

While Turkey is part of the Global Coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS), the country also considers the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to be a terrorist organization and often refers to the group in official statements on terrorism.

The PKK is an armed group struggling for the increased rights of Kurds in Turkey.

Turkey carries out domestic and cross-border military operations in the Kurdistan Region against the PKK. The country has also carried out a number of operations in North East Syria (Rojava) against the People’s Protection Units (YPG), which Turkey believes to be the Syrian extension of the PKK, and has used this as a pretext for the nation’s invasion into Rojava.

The YPG, although ideologically inspired by PKK founder Abdullah Ocalan, denies any links to the PKK.

Akar added, “Turkey respects its neighbors' territorial integrity and expects them to reciprocate with the same policy toward Turkey,” AA reported.

The statement comes amid ongoing Turkish operations in Duhok province targeting the PKK.

Babakir Zebari, a former Iraqi military chief of staff, told Rudaw earlier in May that Turkey in some places has advanced up to 20km into the Kurdistan Region in their latest operation.

Since the decades-long conflict was reignited in 2015 following the collapse of peace efforts between the PKK and Turkey, 5,372 people have been killed, 773 of them (or about 15 percent) in the Kurdistan Region, including 43 civilians.

Turkey has also set up several military bases in Duhok province in a bid to cut off PKK routes into Turkey and Syria. Turkish forces have carried out intense bombardments of suspected PKK positions, which have driven residents of some villages to flee their homes.

Turkey has not only advanced into the Kurdistan Region but also Rojava. Turkey has conducted three military campaigns in northern Syria in the past several years, backing Syrian militia groups, and now controls Afrin, areas north of Aleppo, and pockets of territory within Rojava in the northeast.

More than 18,000 ‘terrorists’ neutralized in less than six years: Turkish minister

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