Sorwar Alam
August 14, 2017•Update: August 15, 2017
By Cankut Tasdan and Sertac Bulur
ANKARA
Turkish forces have “neutralized” 43 PKK terrorists in a week of operations, according to the country’s interior ministry on Monday.
In a briefing, the ministry said 28 PKK terrorists were killed, 14 others surrendered to the security forces and one was detained during counterterrorism operations in the eastern and southern provinces of Mardin, Mus, Tunceli, Hakkari and Diyarbakir since last Monday.
Turkish forces also destroyed 15 shelters and weapon depots, as well as defusing 15 improvised explosive devices and mines.
Almost 2,800 kilograms of bomb-making materials were seized, as were 47 firearms -- including 33 heavy and long-barreled weapons.
In around 1,200 counterterrorism operations across Turkey, security forces detained 319 suspects on charges of aiding PKK terrorists.
Eighty-seven people were held for allegedly being linked to the Daesh terrorist organization and 267 were investigated on charges related to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO).
Three people were also held on alleged links to left-wing terror groups.
In operations targeting narcotics and smuggling, security forces seized 1,132 kilograms of cannabis, 152 kilograms of heroin, three kilograms of cocaine and one kilogram of methamphetamine.
Over 16,860 pills were seized along with 2.2 million cannabis plants, over 671,000 packets of smuggled cigarettes plus a large quantity of illegal fuel.
More than 1,200 people, including security personnel and civilians, have lost their lives since the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU -- resumed its decades-long armed campaign in July 2015.
FETO was the force behind Turkey’s 2016 coup attempt that martyred 250 people and left over 2,000 others injured
