442 arrested in PKK, FETÖ probe in Turkey: Turkish Ministry

Turkey's Interior Ministry has stated that 36 of the 344 detainees were arrested as a part of the probe against the Kurdistan Workers' Party/Kurdistan Communities Union (PKK)/(KCK) terrorist organization while 406 of total 627 detainees were arrested in Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) probe in the last week. In the light of the recent official figures, 442 were arrested in PKK or FETÖ probes in a week.

The ministry also declared that nine Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) terrorists were neutralized in 253 operations that were conducted across Turkey in a week.

The operations were conducted between January 2-9 with the participation of units of Gendarmerie Special Operations, Gendarmerie Commando Units and Police Special Operations.

"Three of the nine terrorists were killed, two have surrendered and four were captured," the statement said.

Meanwhile, as many as 48 terrorist shelters and 45 handmade explosives were destroyed, while 16-kilogram of TNT explosive along with 4 kilograms of plastic explosive were seized in the operation against the PKK terrorist organization.

Also, over 11-million-Turkish lira worth of smuggled drugs and 12-million-Turkish lira worth of smuggled cigarettes have been seized by Turkish security forces.

The operations are crucial due to the vital role in smuggled cigarettes and drugs in providing financial sources for terrorism.

In the same period, as many as 129 Daesh suspects were detained as a part of Turkey's efforts against the terrorist organizations that have been targeting the security of the country by launching attacks.

Also, 628 migrants and 34 human smugglers were captured, while attempting to sneak into Turkey from several different countries or vice versa.

Turkey has been fighting against some other terrorist groups, such as the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) and Daesh across the country and abroad along with the PKK terrorist organization, which has been launching attacks for more than 30 years.

FETÖ is responsible for the coup bid of 15, which left 246 people, including members of the security forces and civilians, martyred and nearly 2,000 others wounded, as they protested against the coup bid.

The PKK, which is designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, had resumed its attacks across Turkey in July 2015 after breaking a two-year ceasefire deal.

Along with PKK, Daesh has been conducting terrorist attacks across the country.

Daesh is responsible for the airport attack conducted in Istanbul which resulted in 45 fatalities, as well as the Gaziantep wedding attack that killed over 50 people and the recent nightclub attack in Istanbul that left 39 people dead and many others.