Turkey deports 59 foreign terrorists since Nov. 11

By Muhammed Boztepe

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey deported 59 foreign terrorists since Nov. 11, according to the Interior Ministry on Wednesday.

Speaking in the capital Ankara, Interior Ministry spokesman Ismail Catakli also said 131 terrorists -- two of them listed in the most wanted category -- were neutralized in November.

As a result of Turkey's anti-terror operations called Kiran in the country's southeast, 124 terrorists have been neutralized, 19 collaborators were captured and 281 caves/shelters used by terrorists were destroyed, he noted.

Some 369,690 Syrians living in Turkey have returned to their country so far after the areas were liberated by Turkey’s anti-terror operations, Catakli said.

Operation Euphrates Shield and its successors, Operation Olive Branch in 2018 and Operation Peace Spring -- launched on Oct. 9 -- all aim to eliminate terrorist elements, including Daesh/ISIS and the YPG/PKK near Turkey’s borders.

Ankara wants to clear northern Syria east of the Euphrates River of the terrorist PKK and its Syrian offshoot, the YPG/PKK.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and EU -- has been responsible for deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.

* Writing by Nilay Kar Onum