Turkish security forces foil 515 terror attacks

By Sertac Bulur

ANKARA

Turkey has conducted more than 68,000 counter-terrorism operations over the last year and 515 terror attacks have been averted, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said Wednesday.

Following , 30,167 suspects are in jail awaiting trial for terror , he added.

Speaking at a meeting of provincial governors in Ankara, Soylu said the 68,464 anti-terror operations targeted the PKK, Daesh, the Terrorist Organization (FETO) and far-left terror groups such as the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C).

There were 40,215 operations targeting the PKK and 25,818 against FETO, which Ankara holds responsible for last year’s attempted coup.

Soylu said 2,242 terrorists -- a term that the Turkish military often uses to refer to killed terrorists.

Nearly 300 terrorists had been killed over the past 9 months by aerial drones operated by Turkish security forces. Turkey has increasingly turned to using armed drones, particularly against the PKK in rural areas, in recent months.

The PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and EU -- resumed its armed campaign against Turkey in July 2015. Since then, it has been responsible for the deaths of more than 1,200 Turkish security personnel and civilians.

Nearly 92,000 anti-drug operations across Turkey in the year to Sept. 30 led to the confiscation of 9.7 tons of heroin and 212 tons of cannabis as well as large-scale seizures of cocaine.

Soylu also addressed border security on Turkey’s southern frontier.

He said a concrete wall built along the Syrian border now extended for 755 kilometers (469 miles) and construction, which began in 2015 along the 911 km (566 mile) border, is continuing. A 38 km (24 ) security fence had also be erected on the border of Hatay province, Soylu added.

Under measures to combat smuggling and illegal crossings, the 3 (10 foot) wall is topped with razor wire and incorporates watchtowers, electronic surveillance, thermal cameras, radar, remote-controlled weapons as well as seismic and acoustic sensors.