Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday pledged to continue fighting terrorism amid increased attacks on security forces which are blamed on Kurdistan Worker's Party, or PKK, Anadolu reported.
"We will continue our fight against terrorist organizations until the guns aimed at our state and citizens are laid down and buried," said Erdogan.
His remarks came during a ceremony at the Bestepe Presidential Palace held for the outgoing General Staff Chief Necdet Ozel whose tenure will end on Aug. 30. Ozel will be replaced by General Hulusi Akar.
"We will continue our struggle until terrorist organizations are buried in concrete and there is not even a single terrorist."
"We do not make any distinction between terrorist organizations; they are terror organizations for us regardless of their name, purpose, symbol or discourse," Erdogan said.
Police have been carrying out nationwide anti-terror operations to apprehend suspected militants of the PKK, ISIL, and far-left Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C) -- all three are designated terrorist groups in Turkey.
Since July 24, around 1,600 people have been arrested in the wave of counter-terrorism raids, amid a spike in attacks targeting security officers after the July 20 deadly suicide bombing in southeastern Suruc district that killed 32. The suicide bombing was blamed on ISIL.