Türkiye ‘neutralized' 14 terrorists last week: National Defense Ministry

Türkiye "neutralized" 14 terrorists over the past week in northern Iraq and northern Syria, near the Turkish border, the Turkish National Defense Ministry said on Thursday.

According to the ministry, since Jan. 1, a total of 537 terrorists have been "neutralized," including three PKK terrorists who surrendered last week.

“The Turkish Armed Forces are determined to completely and permanently eliminate the terrorist threat to our nation," ministry spokesperson Zeki Akturk told a weekly press briefing.

Turkish authorities use the term "neutralize" to imply the terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or captured.

In its nearly 40-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US, and EU – has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants. The YPG/PYD, which also uses the name SDF, is the PKK's Syrian offshoot.

PKK terrorists often hide out in northern Iraq to plot cross-border attacks in Türkiye, while the YPG/PYD has tried to establish a terrorist corridor in northern Syria along Türkiye's borders.

- Illegal crossings into Türkiye

Akturk said that in the past week, 77 individuals, including three members of a terrorist organization, were apprehended while attempting to cross Türkiye's borders illegally, while 2,290 were prevented from crossing.

Since Jan. 1, a total of 1,163 individuals have been detained for illegal border crossings, and 17,315 have been stopped before reaching the border.

Akturk said that within the framework of the European Security Architecture and the so-called coalition of the willing, a planning team from the General Staff participated in the Joint Operations Planning Group in the UK on March 26-27. He said the deputy foreign minister and the director general of defense and security attended the NATO political directors meeting on Thursday.

- Israel-Palestine conflict

Akturk said the destruction of the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital in Gaza, which was built by Türkiye and operated by local authorities as a cancer treatment center, is incompatible with humanitarian values.

He added that Türkiye's priority is to “stop the destruction in Gaza and achieve a permanent ceasefire.”

- Syria

A ministerial-level meeting was held on March 9, in Jordan with Türkiye, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon to support Syria's fight against terrorism, especially ISIS/Daesh, the spokesman said.

Sharing that the five countries agreed to establish a joint operations center based on Syria's new government's requests, Akturk said: “Türkiye emphasized the importance of Syria's territorial integrity, the establishment of state authority, and security. Türkiye is also considering the establishment of training bases to enhance the Syrian army's capacity, with all activities coordinated and security measures in place.”

- US

During Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan's visit to the US, questions arose about the CATSAA sanctions and the F-35 issue.

Sources said the process started with a phone call between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his US counterpart Donald Trump, followed by a meeting between the foreign ministers. “We reiterated that the CATSAA sanctions are illegal and that it's wrong for one ally to sanction another. We also said that if the sanctions are lifted, the F-35 procurement process could resume, and defense cooperation with the US would likely increase,” the sources said.

- Black Sea grain corridor

On restarting the Black Sea grain corridor, the sources at the ministry said: “The issue of restarting the grain corridor, which was previously implemented under Türkiye's leadership and helped prevent a global food crisis, is being discussed again. However, no official decision has been made yet. As Türkiye, we are ready to do everything we can to contribute to global and regional peace and to prevent the food crisis.”