There are currently 124 PKK terrorists within the borders of Türkiye, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said late Thursday, expressing his belief that there will be none in the rural areas by next year, News.Az reports citing Daily Sabah. 

Speaking in a televised interview, he said: "We are currently in the time period when the PKK received the strongest support, but we are in the time period when we destroyed and defeated it the most. I believe that in 2023, no terrorist will remain in the countryside."

Regarding the number of high-level terrorists eliminated in the country in the last year, Soylu said: "We neutralized 36 high-level terrorists in Türkiye, one of them from the red (category)."

In its more than 40-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union – has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.

The most-wanted terrorist list is divided into five color-coded categories, with red being the most wanted, followed by blue, green, orange and gray.

He also reiterated Türkiye's criticism of its NATO ally United States for providing support to the PKK's Syrian branch YPG and said that the terrorist group received $2 billion from Washington in the last three years.

News.Az