ANKARA

Türkiye is determined to continue its strategy to root out terrorism at its source, the nation's president said on Friday.

"No matter who terrorists collude with, Türkiye will always hold them accountable for every drop of blood they shed," Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at the launching ceremony of the third vessel of the four MILGEM Ada class corvettes – a joint venture of Türkiye and Pakistan – at the Istanbul Shipyard.

"No one can teach lessons to Türkiye, which is the only NATO ally that fought Daesh/ISIS hand to hand and was victorious," Erdogan said, referring to the cross-border anti-terror operations in northern areas of Iraq and Syria, near the Turkish border.

During the event, Erdogan and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif jointly inaugurated the third of four MILGEM corvette ships manufactured by Türkiye for the Pakistan Navy at the Istanbul Shipyard.

Early on Sunday, Türkiye launched Operation Claw-Sword, a cross-border aerial campaign against the terror group YPG/PKK, which has illegal hideouts across the Iraqi and Syrian borders where they plan and sometimes execute attacks on Turkish soil.

Turkish officials underscored that the operation is in line with international law and the nation’s right of self-defense under UN resolutions.

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. The YPG is the terror group's Syrian offshoot.