Türkiye's fight against terror to continue until threat is over: Erdogan
Türkiye has launched Operation Claw-Sword, a cross-border aerial campaign against the terror group PKK/YPG, which has illegal hideouts across the Iraqi and Syrian borders.
Türkiye will continue fighting terrorism within its borders and beyond until the threat is eliminated, the nation’s president has said.
"We will continue this struggle inside and outside the borders until the terrorist threat to our country is completely over," Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a Teachers’ Day address in the capital Ankara on Thursday.
Erdogan said the Turkish Armed Forces has been destroying terror nests in operations carried out in both northern Iraq and Syria, near the Turkish border.
"Wherever there are terrorists, the security organisation of this state will be there with its police, military, and security forces," he added.
READ MORE: Erdogan: Türkiye to launch Syria ground operation against terrorists
Self-defence
Early on Sunday, Türkiye launched Operation Claw-Sword, 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.
Turkish officials stressed that the operation is in line with international law and the nation’s right to self-defence under UN resolutions.
In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US and the European Union – has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women, children and infants. The YPG is the terror group's Syrian offshoot.
READ MORE: Türkiye: Over 250 terrorists neutralised in northern Iraq, Syria operation