19 March 2017•Update: 20 March 2017
KARAMAN, Turkey
Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said Sunday that the Turkish Armed Forces have carried out 11,738 military operations against the PKK terrorist organization over the last six months.
Speaking at a police academy graduation ceremony in Turkey’s southern Karaman province, Soylu praised Turkish soldiers’ courage and diligence even in the face of challenges such as hard weather.
“In the last six months, 153 major incidents have been prevented, four suicide attackers and 21 suspects plotting and preparing attacks have been caught, and 22 bomb-laden cars seized,” Soylu added.
Citing security forces’ ongoing operations on PKK strongholds in the southeastern Diyarbakir province’s Lice district, and the Mardin province’s Omeryaman and Amanoslar regions, Soylu said Turkey has destroyed 800 PKK shelters in the last six months.
Soylu also said traffic checks to restrict the terrorists’ movements are ongoing.
“In 2017, 7,720 million vehicles were checked and legal actions were taken for 92,519 of them."
The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization in Turkey, the U.S., and the EU. In its over three-decade terror campaign against Turkey, more than 40,000 people have been killed.
Since the group resumed its armed campaign in July 2015, more than 1,200 people, including security force personnel and civilians, have lost their lives.
Reporting by Metin Bolat:Writing by Sibel Ugurlu
