ANKARA, Turkiye
\nT\u00fcrkiye\u2019s air operation in northern Iraq and Syria to clear the regions of terrorists is \u201cjust the beginning,\u201d President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said, adding that the country will launch a ground operation in Syria \u201cwhen convenient.\u201d
\n\u201cOur operations with aircraft, artillery, and UCAVs (unmanned combat aerial vehicles) are just the beginning,\u201d Erdogan told the Justice and Development (AK) Party group meeting in the capital Ankara on Wednesday.
\n\u201cWe will come down hard on the terrorists with a land operation at the most convenient time,\u201d Erdogan said.
\nEarly Sunday, T\u00fcrkiye launched Operation Claw-Sword, a cross-border aerial campaign against the terror group YPG\/PKK which has illegal hideouts across the Iraqi and Syrian borders where they plan attacks on Turkish soil.
\nThe country\u2019s air operation followed a YPG\/PKK terror attack on November 13 on Istanbul\u2019s crowded Istiklal Avenue that killed six people and left 81 injured.
\nErdogan said T\u00fcrkiye has the power to catch and punish terrorists inside and outside borders who are involved in attacks against the country and the nation, and stressed that Ankara is more determined than ever to secure its southern border.
\nT\u00fcrkiye has remained faithful to its promises regarding the borders of Syria, Erdogan added, saying: \u201cIf our interlocutors cannot fulfill the requirements of the agreement, we have the right to take care of ourselves.\u201d
\nHe added that Iraqi and Syrian administrations should not feel uneasy with the operation since the country\u2019s only aim is to protect the security of its nation, as well as the people of the neighbouring countries.
\n\u201cNo one can prevent or stand up against us to draw the security line to the place where it should be, where these attacks on our borders and our citizens continue,\u201d Erdogan said.
\nForces who gave assurances that T\u00fcrkiye will face no threat from areas under their control have failed to keep their promises, he stressed.
\n\u201cOur message to those who are still attempting to bring T\u00fcrkiye to its knees with insidious methods is clear: \u2018You will never succeed\u2019,\u201d Erdogan said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ANKARA, Turkiye T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s air operation in northern Iraq and Syria to clear the regions of terrorists is \u201cjust the beginning,\u201d President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said, adding that the country will launch a ground operation in Syria \u201cwhen convenient.\u201d \u201cOur operations with aircraft, artillery, and UCAVs (unmanned combat aerial vehicles) are just the beginning,\u201d Erdogan […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":297071,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-297054","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n