Turkish Troops 'Neutralize' About 4,600 Daesh Militants in Syria, Iraq – PM

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Turkey has "neutralized" 4,600 Daesh terrorists in Syria and Iraq since the launch of its military operations in both countries, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Monday.

"So far, 3,800 in Syria, 800 in Iraq, in total 4,600 Daesh terrorists, have been neutralized. Today, no other country has been more decisive in the fight against Daesh like Turkey," Yildirim said during his visit to Singapore, as quoted by the Anadolu news agency.

The prime minister underlined that Ankara continued to fight against terrorism and cooperation on the international level was key to defeat the global threat.

"In order to end the global threat by terrorist organizations, all countries should fight them through joint efforts, without making distinctions between them and without stressing their ethnic structure or identity … Close cooperation internationally in the fight against terrorism is a must," Yildirim added.

In late March, the Turkish National Security Council announced that Ankara had successfully completed Operation Euphrates Shield in cooperation with the Free Syrian Army in northern Syria, during which the cities of Jarabulus and al-Bab had been liberated from Daesh terrorists. The operation has been widely criticized both by the Syrian Kurds and Damascus, who have accused Ankara of violating Syria's territorial integrity.

Turkey also launched an operation against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), listed by Ankara as a terror organization, in country’s Kurdish-dominated southeastern regions as well as in Syria and Iraq. Tensions between Ankara and the Kurdish pro-independence PKK escalated in 2015, after a ceasefire between the two sides collapsed over a series of terror attacks allegedly committed by the PKK members.