Leftist terror groups in rural Turkey on last legs: Interior minister
ANKARA- Anadolu Agency
![Leftist terror groups in rural Turkey on last legs: Interior minister](http://image.hurimg.com/i/hurriyet/75/0x0/60028b65d3806c30a0fbb283.jpg)
Turkey has been completely purged of far-left terror groups’ structures outside cities, Turkey’s interior minister said on Jan. 15.
“There are either one or two people or none” in rural areas, Süleyman Soylu told a graduation ceremony for 500 women special forces police officers. “They are also in a hurry to flee to Europe.”
The leadership of the terrorist PKK in northern Iraq’s Mt. Qandil area is also reeling from the efforts of both the Turkish state and a longstanding protest of the terror group by families in Diyarbakir, southeastern Turkey.
Around 5,000 people used to join the terrorist PKK group every year, Soylu said, but now just a small fraction do, with only 52 joining in 2020.
“We will rescue those 52 people they deceived and kidnapped before it’s too late,” he added.
In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and EU – has been responsible for the deaths of some 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.