Turkish security forces eliminate over 700 terrorists in 2024

Turkish security forces eliminated 722 PKK/YPG terrorists in more than 40,500 operations conducted during the first ten months of 2024, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced Wednesday. Addressing the Planning and Budget Committee of the Turkish parliament, Yerlikaya detailed the extensive counterterrorism efforts against various groups threatening national security.

Ali Yerlikaya said at the Planning and Budget Committee of the Turkish Grand National Assembly that “722 terrorists were neutralized in 40,521 operations we conducted in rural and urban areas.”

Yerlikaya reported that 4,177 operations were conducted against the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) between Jan. 1 and Nov. 1, with 935 people arrested and 655 detained in 1,205 operations against the Daesh terror organization.

“In the first 10 months of this year, 92 terrorist attacks, 72 of which involved bombings, were prevented,” Yerlikaya stressed.

Thirty-five so-called high-level terrorists were eliminated so far this year, he added.

In its 40-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK — listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the U.S. and EU — has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women, children, infants and the elderly. The YPG is PKK’s Syrian offshoot.

Ankara 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.