Turkey 'neutralizes' 13 senior terrorists since January

By Muhammed Boztepe

ANKARA - Turkey has “neutralized” some 13 top members of different terror groups since the beginning of 2019, the country’s interior minister said on Tuesday.

Turkish authorities often use the word "neutralized" in their statements to imply that the terrorists in question either surrendered or were killed or captured.

Speaking in the capital Ankara, Suleyman Soylu said: “13 top terrorists from all terror groups have been neutralized since the beginning of this year.”

Earlier on Tuesday, the Defense Ministry said Turkish Armed Forces "neutralized" a key PKK terrorist leader in an air offensive in northern Iraq.

The ministry identified the terrorist as Mehmet Soysuren, codenamed Savas Porsipi, who was on the red -- the top priority -- category of Interior Ministry’s wanted terrorists list.

Soylu also said some 6,320 people have been remanded in anti-drug operations across the country since the beginning of new year.

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 many women and children.

* Writing by Nilay Kar Onum