Türkiye launches new anti-terror offensive in southeast

Türkiye on Wednesday launched Operation Eren Abluka-18 Narco Terror in its southeastern Diyarbakir province.

The operation aims to root out the PKK terrorist organization, eliminate terrorists hiding out in the region, and cut the group’s financial sources, the Turkish Interior Ministry said in a statement.

A total of 61 gendarmerie teams and 950 personnel are taking part in the operation.

On the first day of the operation, four suspects were caught and a large amount of narcotics – 975 grams of marijuana and over 1.75 million cannabis roots – along with other materials and equipment, including irrigation hoses, were seized.

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

– PKK, Daesh/ISIS suspects nabbed

Another 12 PKK suspects were apprehended during an operation in the southeastern Mersin province.

Raids were carried out at different locations in Mersin to arrest 20 suspects involved in harassing business owners, attempts to recruit children for the terror group, and organizing funerals for deceased terrorists, according to Turkish authorities.

Three of them were found to have escaped abroad, while efforts are underway to track down the remaining five.

Weapons, equipment and other materials were also seized.

In a separate operation, 11 Daesh/ISIS suspects were arrested in raids carried out in three different Turkish provinces — Erzincan, Istanbul and Trabzon.

Türkiye was one of the first countries to declare Daesh/ISIS a terror group.

The country has since been attacked multiple times by the terrorist organization, with 315 people killed and hundreds more injured in at least 10 suicide bombings, seven bomb attacks, and four armed attacks.

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