Erdogan Vows To Rid Turkey Of Islamists, Putschists, Separatists - Reports

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised on Tuesday to hunt down Islamists, Kurdish separatists and those, he believes, are behind a failed attempt to unseat him, local media said

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 12th February, 2019) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised on Tuesday to hunt down Islamists, Kurdish separatists and those, he believes, are behind a failed attempt to unseat him, local media said.

"Separatist PKK [Kurdistan Workers' Party], abusive FETO [the movement of the Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen, referred to as the Fethullah Terrorist Organization by Ankara], or project-product Daesh [Islamic State, banned in Russia]... We have chased them up and will continue chasing," Erdogan was quoted as saying by the state news agency Anadolu.

He specifically threatened the Kurdish PKK militia hiding in the mounts of Judi, Gabar, Tendurek and as far as Iraq's Qandil. The group has been seeking a nation state in parts of Turkish territories.

The FETO group has been blamed for the 2016 failed coup by a rogue military faction. Gulen has denied any role in it.

Erdogan's announcement comes after Turkish police launched a massive "counter-terror" operation this morning to detain 1,112 people with suspected FETO links, arresting 641 of them. Tens of thousands have been arrested or laid off in the crackdown.