Conclusion
In the 2010s, the threat of terrorism against Turkey reached a level unseen in a long time. At the same time, that decade went down in history as a time when the Turkish state and people joined forces to overcome very serious challenges. Over the last ten years, Daesh, PKK and FETÖ –not to mention a number of less powerful terrorist entities— targeted Turkey’s citizens in an attempt to destroy our democracy and constitutional order. The counter-terrorism policy, which Turkey adopted in response to those threats, plays a key role to keep safe Turkey, Europe and the rest of the international community.
The terrorist organization Daesh carried out its first attack on Turkish soil in 2013. Turkey’s struggle against the group, however, predates that assault. As early as 2011, when the Syrian conflict began, Turkey established Risk Analysis units at airports, bus terminals, train stations and border crossings to stop the flow of foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs) to the conflict zone – capturing thousands of terror suspects in the process, whom it proceeded to return to their countries of citizenship.
As Daesh attacks intensified in 2015-2016, Turkey, in line with its new national security concept, launched Operation Euphrates Shield to eliminate terrorist elements in neighboring Syria. Within that operation’s framework, Turkey severed the group’s physical access to the Turkey-Syria border and liberated the Daesh stronghold of Al Bab as well as Dabiq, an area that played a very prominent role in the organization’s twisted ideology. Turkey’s efforts against Daesh, which has since been weakened, continues within its borders. At the same time, there is an ongoing effort in the Syrian theater to capture Daesh terrorists, whom the terrorist group PKK/YPG has released from prisons in recent months.
Another major terrorist group, which threatened Turkey in the 2010s, was PKK. Having been active for 40 years, the organization took advantage of the turmoil in neighboring Syria to occupy a large chunk of territory in an attempt to carve out a terror corridor. Turkey, in cooperation with the Free Syrian Army, conducted the Olive Branch and Peace Spring operations to destroy the terrorists’ local hearquarters in northern Syria, limiting the group’s ability to train terrorists and plan future attacks on Turkey.
During this period, the main development that occurred within Turkey’s borders was the PKK’s decision to abort its disarmament, which had been negotiated in 2013-2015, and to form so-called autonomous areas in Turkey’s southeastern provinces. Having stockpiled weapons in provincial and county centers during the Reconciliation Process, the terrorists killed two police officers to end the talks and, with the help of local governments, attempted to hold certain territories. Turkey’s security forces thwarted this coordinated attack on our territorial integrity, capturing and bringing to justice those responsible for the assault. At the same time, Turkey rebuilt and renovated residential areas as well as religious sites, including churches and mosques, that PKK terrorists had damaged. The Republic of Turkey continues to combat the terrorist organization PKK in a determined fashion and taking into consideration the delicate balance between liberty and security.
Finally, FETÖ was among major terrorist organizations to target Turkey in the 2010s. The organization, established in the 1960s, is led by Fetullah Gülen, who currently resides in the United States. Having infiltrated Turkey’s strategic institutions for some 40 years in an attempt to seize political power, FETÖ carried out its deadliest terror attack on July 15, 2016. This act of terrorism claimed the lives of 251 innocent people and injured over 1400 Turkish citizens.
The July 15 coup attempt took place against the backdrop of Turkey’s ongoing efforts to crack down on FETÖ’s financial and recruitment networks. In the wake of the failed coup, the Turkish authorities redoubled their efforts, identifying FETÖ-linked public officials to relieve them of their posts and bringing them to justice. At the same time, Turkey continues its efforts in the international arena to protect its friends and allies from the FETÖ threat by securing the extradition of terror suspects and ensuring the closure or transfer of FETÖ-linked institutions to the Republic of Turkey.