AA dep. DG praises successful fight against Daesh, PKK

By Andac Hongur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkey has achieved huge success in its fight against the Daesh terrorist organization in northern Syria under Operation Euphrates Shield, Anadolu Agency Deputy Director-General Mustafa Ozkaya said Thursday.

Speaking at a panel in Istanbul on Syria Strategy of Global and Regional Actors, Ozkaya said the decrease of terror incidents in recent weeks was a result of cross-border operations.

Turkey has been victim of a plan to draw the country into a “swirl of chaos”, he said referring to the deadly blasts in several Turkish cities that claimed hundreds of lives last year.

“If a cross-border war against Daesh had not been conducted, the cross-border territory of PKK/PYD had not been narrowed, the swirl of chaos would continue,” he explained.

Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) forces have launched Operation Euphrates Shield in northern Syria in August last year to clear the area of the Daesh terrorist group and to foil a PKK/PYD plan to establish a corridor across the Turkish border.

At the same time, Turkish security forces have conducted anti-PKK operations across the country, mainly in southern cities, clearing the areas of terror elements.

Terror activities in Turkey have almost stopped due to security operations following successful intelligence reports, added Ozkaya.

“If this trend continues, the country will promote internal stability,” according to Ozkaya.

Following the Operation Euphrates Shield forces' capture of the strategic city of Al-Bab from Daesh, an area of about 2,000 square kilometers (770 square miles) has become a safe place for Syrian refugees.

“This was a hopeful move for returning the refugees,” he added.

Ozkaya said a successful Raqqah operation would completely sweep the terror group from Syria.

The PYD is a Syrian offshoot of the PKK, which is recognized as a terrorist group by Turkey, the EU and U.S. While Turkey considers PYD/YPG as Syrian affiliates of the PKK, neither the EU nor the U.S. regard the groups as its offshoots.

Turkey-backed forces have killed more than 3,000 Daesh terrorists -- as well as some PKK/PYD elements -- in northern Syria under Operation Euphrates Shield, according to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.