UPDATE - Turkey: 4 PKK terrorists surrender since start of 2021

UPDATES WITH INTERIOR MINISTRY’S STATEMENT, CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK, EDITS THROUGHOUT

By Halil Ibrahim Sincar and Sertac Bulur

MARDIN, Turkey (AA) - Turkish security forces have convinced one more YPG/PKK terrorist to lay down arms, a security source said on Saturday.

The terrorist surrendered to security forces in Turkey’s eastern Mardin province after persuasion efforts by police and gendarmerie personnel.

Identified only by the initials Z.O., the accused used the code name Zindan Amed since joining the YPG/PKK in 2015, said the source, who requested anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

He was wanted by Turkish authorities for being a member of an armed terrorist organization, it added.

Meanwhile, the Turkish Interior Ministry said in a statement the terrorist joined the PKK in 2015 and was active in Syria.

The number of terrorists who surrendered through persuasion this year has reached four, the statement noted.

- Terrorist hideouts destroyed

Turkish forces also destroyed four hideouts of the PKK terror group in a rural area of Mardin.

Weapons, ammunition, digital materials, organizational documents, and other supplies were also seized in the operation, another source said.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US, and the EU – has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants. The YPG is the PKK’s Syrian offshoot.

* Writing by Havva Kara Aydin and Seda Sevencan