ANKARA (Sputnik) — The Turkish army killed 3,000 Daesh terrorists in Iraq and Syria but nevertheless suffered the most from the terrorist group, President Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday.
"No country has suffered such a loss from Daesh terrorist and put up such a fight against it as Turkey. The number of militants killed by our military has reached three thousands now," Erdogan said while addressing army chiefs from Balkan countries in Istanbul on Wednesday.
Turkey's Chief of the General Staff Hulusi Akar, speaking at the same meeting, cited the lower number of 1,300 militants killed by the Turkish military.
Erdogan also denounced the countries that accused Turkey of supporting Daesh.
IS, also known as Daesh, is outlawed in a number of countries, including the United States and Russia. It controls large territories in Syria and Iraq.
