Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar
National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Friday that Turkey will never allow a terror corridor on its southern borders.
"We will never allow a terror corridor formation in our south, whether it's from Iraq or Syria's north," he said during a visit to Somali capital Mogadishu.
"Our contacts regarding the east of the Euphrates River are continuing."
President Tayyip Erdogan has signaled an impending operation YPG terrorist forces the east of the river, delivering last month what he said was his "final warning" to those he said endangered Turkey's southern border with Syria.
The PYD and its military YPG wing are Syrian branches of the PKK, which has waged war against Turkey for more than 30 years.
Security forces "neutralized" four so-called senior figures of the PKK terror organization on Nov. 1-8 across southeastern Turkey, according to Interior Ministry sources.Turkish authorities often use the word "neutralized" in their statements to imply that the terrorists in question either surrendered or were killed or captured.Turkey divides wanted terrorists into five color-coded categories, with red as the most wanted, followed by blue, green, orange and grey.PKK-linked suspects arrested on Turkish-Greek borderBedirhan Abo in the "red category", Muslim Firtina in the "green category", Selim Demiroglu in the "orange category" and Ilyas Karakoc in the "grey category" were among those neutralized with a total bounty of $5.9 million, according to ministry sources who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media.Amid increasing pressure on the terror group, security forces neutralized 113 terrorists last month -- including Yusuf Tunc who was wanted in the ministry’s “grey category” -- with operations ongoing in Turkey’s eastern and southeastern regions as well as across the border in neighboring Iraq.In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of nearly 40,000 people, including women and children.
Turkey crosses off 4 wanted senior PKK terrorists
Four PKK-linked terror suspects were arrested on the Turkey-Greece border on Thursday, according to Turkish security sources.The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media, said the suspects were arrested in the first-degree forbidden military area in Turkey's western Edirne province, while they were trying to cross into Greece through illegal means.The suspects have criminal records, the sources added.The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and EU.In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, it has been responsible for the deaths of some 40,000 people, including women and children.US policy on YPG/PKK still shows no changeTurkey's ruling party blasts US 'hypocrisy' on PYD‘PKK terrorists control 80 pct of drug trade in Europe’
PKK-linked suspects arrested on Turkish-Greek border