3 more PKK terrorists surrender to Turkish security forces

By Zehra Nur Duz

ANKARA (AA) - Three more PKK terrorists surrendered to Turkish security forces, the Interior Ministry said Saturday.

The terrorists, who joined the PKK between 2013 and 2019 and operated in Iraq and Syria, surrendered after persuasion efforts by Turkish police and the gendarmerie, the ministry said in a statement.

The number of terrorists who have laid down their arms through persuasion efforts in 2022 now stands at 81, it added.

In Türkiye, offenders linked to terror groups who surrender are eligible for possible sentence reductions under a repentance law.

The PKK terror group, battered and demoralized by Turkish security forces’ successful operations, has been in recent years losing members and failing to attract recruits, according to Turkish officials.

In its more than 35-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.