On Friday, an operation was launched late at night against PKK terrorists in northern Iraq intended to completely eradicate the terrorist hysteria along Turkey’s southern borders, said the Turkish president on Saturday.
“This operation, carried out with respect for Iraq’s territorial integrity, will contribute to the establishment of peace and security in the region,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan said via video link.
He stressed that Turkey aims to rid its southern borders of terrorism against efforts to establish a terrorist presence.
The separatist terrorist group PKK often uses bases in northern Iraq, just across Turkey’s southern border, to hide out and plot terror attacks in Turkey.
There is no place for separatist terrorist groups in the future of Turkey or neighboring Iraq or Syria, said Erdogan. Since then, many terrorists have been neutralized in the operation and multiple shelters and safe heavens were demolished, he added.
In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US, and the EU – has been responsible for the deaths of nearly 40,000 people, including women and children.
