Turkey to never stop fight against terror: Defense Minister Akar

ANKARA

Turkey will never stop fighting against terror and it is determined to continue its fight until the last terrorist is “neutralized,” the country’s defense minister said on Oct. 5.

Hulusi Akar, the minister, was in Turkish capital Ankara to pay a visit to the family of gendarme sergeant Özgür Can İnce, who was among eight soldiers killed in an attack of the illegal PKK in southeastern province of Batman on Oct. 4.

"Turkey will continue fight against terror until the last terrorist will be neutralized. We can't stop or wait," Akar said.

Turkish authorities often use the word "neutralized" in their statements to imply that the targets in question either surrendered or were killed or captured.

"We can't stop. Turkish armed forces will continue their fight against terror with commitment and determination as they have been doing it for long," he stated.

In a weekly statement, the Turkish General Staff said that from Sept. 28 to Oct. 4, the army carried out anti-terror operations in Turkey’s southeastern Şırnak, Siirt, Diyarbakır, and Ağrı provinces, as well as in regions of northern Iraq.

The statement said 12 terrorists were "neutralized" on Turkish soil, while 56 others were neutralized in northern Iraq.

Meanwhile, residents of Batman organized a march on Oct. 5 to condemn the latest PKK attack in the province.

A number of Turkish non-governmental organizations organized the protest, with participants chanting slogans like “Turks, Kurds are brothers” and “Hell to PKK.”

The protestors carried a 100-meter-long (328-foot-long) Turkish flag during the march.