Turkey neutralizes 462 senior terrorists since July 15, 2016

ANKARA

A total of 462 "so-called senior terrorists" were neutralized since July 15, 2016 in the country, the Turkish interior minister said on Saturday.

Suleyman Soylu said on Twitter a total of 40 terror attacks were prevented in the country in 2021 alone.

He added that some 6,716 terrorists have been neutralized, including 1997 in 2017, 1636 in 2018, 1628 in 2019, 1171 in 2020 and 284 in 2021.

According to Soylu, the number of terrorists who joined the terror groups dropped from 161 in 2017 to 12 in 2021.

The minister also added that since 2017, a total of 861 PKK/KCK terrorists have surrendered to security forces.

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