Türkiye determined to make borders safe via anti-terror operations: President

By Diyar Guldogan

ANKARA (AA) - Türkiye is determined to make the country and its borders safe through the operations it carries out against terrorism, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday.

"Hopefully, with these operations, step by step, we are determined to make every inch of our country safe, starting from beyond the border," Erdogan said at an event in the central Konya province.

Erdogan's remarks came after three Turkish soldiers were killed in northern Iraq by harassment fire in the Operation Claw-Lock zone, which Türkiye launched in April to target the PKK terrorist organization's hideouts in the northern Metina, Zap, and Avasin-Basyan regions near the Turkish border.

The president extended his condolences and wished patience to the mourning families of the soldiers, to the Turkish Armed Forces, and to the nation.

Recently, Türkiye launched Operation Claw-Sword in northern Iraq and Syria, a cross-border aerial campaign against the terror group PKK/YPG, which has illegal hideouts across the Iraqi and Syrian borders where they plan and sometimes execute attacks on Turkish soil.

After the air operation was launched on Nov. 20, Erdogan had also signaled a ground operation into northern Iraq and northern Syria to eliminate the terror threat.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US and EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.