Turkey neutralizes 177 terrorists over last month in Syria

ANKARA

Security forces neutralized 177 terrorists, including 29 Daesh/ISIS members, over the last month in Syria, the Turkish National Defense Ministry said on Sunday.

In 2013, Turkey became one of the first countries to declare Daesh/ISIS a terror group.

The country has since been attacked by Daesh/ISIS terrorists multiple times, with 315 people killed and hundreds more injured in at least 10 suicide bombings, seven bomb attacks and four armed assaults.

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

Meanwhile, some 7,200 people, including 17 FETO terror suspects, were arrested over the last month when they attempted to cross the border illegally, the ministry added.

Separately, Turkey has dismissed over 19,000 military personnel since the 2016 defeated coup as part of the fight against the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), while 5,181 others are still facing trial.

The FETO and its US-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

Ankara also accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.

Since the coup attempt, tens of thousands of FETO suspects have been arrested, including many in the armed forces, police, judicial system, and education sector.

*Writing by Burak Bir