US removes PYD/YPG from annual terrorism report

ANKARA

The U.S. State Department omitted the PYD/YPG from its 2017 Country Reports on Terrorism, which was released Sept. 19.

The previous edition of the report noted that Turkey views the Syria-based PYD/YPG as an extension of the PKK, which is considered a terrorist organization by Ankara.

The report also said that Turkey refers to Fethullah Gülen as the leader of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), but the State Department described him as an “Islamic cleric”.

"Turkey’s counterterrorism efforts were impacted in the aftermath of the July 2016 coup attempt due to the government’s investigation of FETÖ," it said.

According to the report, Turkey continued its intensive efforts to defeat terrorist organizations both inside and outside its borders, including the PKK and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

Additionally, terrorist attacks around the world decreased by 23 percent, while the number of casualties caused by terrorist attacks fell by 27 percent, according to the report.