Turkey to wipe out all terror groups: FM Cavusoglu

By Leyla Ataman Koyuncuoglu

ANTALYA, Turkey

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has said the terrorist groups FETO, PKK, PYD, YPG and Daesh will be wiped out from Turkey.

Speaking at a memorial service for the martyrs of the July 15 foiled coup in Turkey's southern province of Antalya's Kas town on Sunday, Cavusoglu also wished God's mercy on those who lost their lives in Saturday’s attack at a wedding ceremony in Gaziantep province that left 51 people dead.

"Traitors should know this: FETO, PKK, PYD, YPG, Daesh [also known as ISID in Turkish], we will cleanse them all from our country and wipe out all of them," he said.

"Members of FETO had tanks and helicopters on the night of the coup attempt. They were bombing and shooting at our people with sharpshooters from the high hills," he recalled.

The people did not have guns but they took a stand against the coup plotters, he said.

Turkey's government has said the July 15 defeated coup, which left 240 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured, was organized by followers of Fetullah Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania since 1999, and his FETO network.

Gulen is accused of leading a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary, forming what is commonly known as the parallel state.

"Also, the PKK, which is their [FETO] twin brother, blood brother and works together with them, and the PKK's extension in Syria, the YPG, PYD, Daesh that targets Turkey by misusing our religion, and ISID [acronym referring to Daesh] traitors should not forget this: You may have subcontracted to some people. Your masters wanted to occupy this country, these territories but they could not [be successful]. Now they use you as a tool and subcontractor. We will wipe out you too," he said.

"You cannot divide this country. You attack dastardly, kill innocent, civilian people dastardly," he said.

Cavusoglu said the PKK did not care about problems of the Kurdish people.

"They [PKK] are separatists and traitors. We will fight against them both in Turkish territories, and in Iraq and Syria where they live, and anywhere, even in Iran," he said.

The PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and EU – resumed its 30-year armed campaign against the Turkish state in July 2015.

Since then, more than 600 security personnel have been martyred and more than 7,000 PKK terrorists have been killed.

* Tutku Umac contributed to this report from Ankara.