The Turkish Ministry of Defense announced the arrest of 6 individuals, including 5 holding Russian citizenship and one Libyan, in Hatay province, after they attempted to enter the country illegally from the Syrian side.
The Turkish defense stated in a statement today, Wednesday, that "Turkish border guards detained 6 individuals, 5 of whom are Russian and one Libyan, who attempted to enter Turkey illegally." It added that "among those arrested is a Russian woman belonging to the banned terrorist organization 'ISIS' who is wanted by security authorities."
This comes at a time when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan confirmed that his country's forces will find terrorists and bury them in their hiding places. The Anadolu Agency reported on Tuesday night that Erdoğan stated Turkey will expand its military operations against what it referred to as the PKK terrorist organization to areas that pose a threat to the country.
Erdoğan emphasized that Turkish forces would remain in areas they had entered and secured to prevent any similar terrorist attacks like the Gara massacre, stating, "We will expand our military operations against terrorists in the next phase to areas that pose a threat to us, and the Gara area is important, it represented a problem, it has fallen, and by God, it is over."
He confirmed that the recent massacre against Turkish citizens once again highlighted the importance of Turkey's anti-PKK operations in Syria and northern Iraq in terms of border security, national security, and the safety and future of its citizens.
