Turkish forces kill 27 terrorists over week

By Sarp Ozer

ANKARA (AA) - Twenty-seven terrorists were killed in Turkey in the week to Monday, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

In addition, ten surrendered and six were captured since Aug. 28.

The ministry’s statement did not specify the terror groups involved but Turkey is embroiled in a long-running struggle against terrorists from the PKK, Daesh, the Fetullah Terrorist Organisation (FETO) and the far-left.

During the counter-terrorism operations in the week, 243 people were arrested for suspicion of aiding and abetting, and having suspected links to terrorist organisations.

Anti-drugs teams across Turkey conducted 2,032 operations, the statement added, leading to the seizure of more than 1,500 kilograms of cannabis, 150 kilograms of heroin, 8 kilograms of methamphetamine, more than 1.4 million kilograms of ganja and nearly 245,000 pills.

Nearly 3,000 suspects were arrested in narcotics raids.

The PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and EU -- resumed its armed campaign against Turkey in July 2015. Since then, it has been responsible for the deaths of around 1,200 Turkish security personnel and civilians.